Japan

A nuclear reactor started supplying power early Thursday in western Japan, becoming the nation's first reactor to restart operation since last year's nuclear disaster that has prompted growing public opposition against the power source, dpa reported.

Japan regained nuclear-generated electricity as reactor 3 at the Oi Nuclear Power Plant on the Sea of Japan coast was connected to the generator and transmission grid.

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi will attend a conference on Afghanistan, that will be held in Japan's Tokyo soon, Iranian Foreign Ministry's Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said in Tehran at a weekly press conference, IRIB News reported.

Mehmanparast noted that Salehi was invited to participate in the conference by Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba.

Aside from Iran's representative, officials from some 40 countries will be attending the conference, that is to focus on economic aspects of Afghanistan's future.

At least two of Asia's four top buyers of Iranian crude will keep imports flowing, though at overall reduced rates, as they find ways around an EU ban on insuring tankers carrying the Islamic country's oil, Reuters reported.

Asia needs oil to feed growing demand and top consumers are reluctant to entirely halt imports from Iran and depend entirely on top exporter Saudi Arabia, especially given that output from other alternative suppliers such as Libya and Iraq has not stabilized.

Japan's cabinet ministers approved and submitted a special bill to parliament on Monday to enable the government to provide insurance cover for Iranian crude imports once a European Union ban on insurance and reinsurance takes effect on July 1, Reuters reported.

The insurance scheme would enable the Japanese government to provide direct payments of up to $7.6 billion in the event of a critical incident on a tanker carrying Iranian crude bound for Japan, the transport ministry said in a statement.