Japanese refiners unlikely to import Iranian oil from April

The article doesn't question why Japan needs US permission to import oil from Iran. As far as I know Japan has not invoked sanctions on Iran.

The article doesn't question why Japan needs US permission to import oil from Iran

Japan doesn't have to ask USA for permission. The concession is granted by the USA is on a case by case basis to allies who can't follow USA lead. The concession enable the trade to go through the USA banking system.

Global trade is denominated in $USD, which entails transaction flowing through US banks (mostly), and this is where USA sanctions affects third party countries.

IF the world didn't have the above arrangements, every conflict, wrong doing, argument would likely end up as war/armed conflict. With USA having relationships friend/foe with virtually every country on earth, I'm glad the system exists, and it's usually only the adversely affected AND selfish countries that resist the sanctions and work around it. Sanctions doesn't affect China for instance because it holds so much reserve it can trade without going through the USA system.

Along the same line middle powers such as Japan gains the power of the USA because wrongdoing a USA allie risks sanctions against it by USA.

it's usually only the adversely affected AND selfish countries that resist the sanctions

you mean like the europeans ? lol. such unilateral actions are just legacies of american hegemony over the past 100 years. americans have done many good things around the world, they have also messed up the lives of many innocent people around the world without accountability, including what happened in iran post ww2.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/06/european-clearing-house-to-bypass-us-sanctions-against-iran

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/01/31/europe/europe-iran-us-sanctions-payment-grm-gbr-intl/index.html

 such unilateral actions are just legacies of american hegemony over the past 100 years

Call it what you like, but if you were Iranian, would you prefer sanctions or be attacked like Iraq? You also realise that without US sanctions there are more than one countries ready and willing to take on Iran don't you?

 you mean like the europeans

That's a good example actually, all with selfish interest at heart (not stability), and what are they proposing? Barter!!! Talk about legacy, when did barter stop being the means to trade? At least Euro businesses are smarter and will ignore what the unelected bureaucrats came up with, ie the harebrained scheme called 'SPV', LOL.

Sanctions are as close as you can get to remedy without bloodshed, what have you got against that premise? Hope you're not saying just let countries like Russia annex territories without recourse, or Iran seeding wars and funding terrorists without recourse? Or NK threatening to nuke Japan?

You also implied you don't like sanctions because it's American, I can't see another superpower currently that I'd rather have than the Americans. Please go ahead and apply for a China social credit account.

Again under US orders and Japan still thinks it is a sovereign nation! Japan is under US occupation and follows US orders. Any prime minister voted in by the Japanese people is controlled, and reports to Washington. When will the Japanese demand back their sovereignty?

The world still don't see that the US power is only as great as they allow, as great as they concede. The Western Wimps (Western Powers) are totally bluffed by the US - get a backbone.

The Western Wimps (Western Powers) are totally bluffed by the US - get a backbone.

Cooperate with an allie or cooperate with unelected officials in Brussel, can't see how backbone is even an issue. There is absolutely nil self determination either way. Hence why companies will follow the sanctions.