Japan's sanctions against North Korea could be eased if Pyongyang deals squarely with the abduction issue, a Cabinet minister said Friday ahead of renewed intergovernmental talks next week.
"If North Korea shows sincere, positive moves toward resolving the abduction issue, it is possible (for Japan) to gradually lift its unilateral" sanctions, Keiji Furuya, minister in charge of dealing with the country's past abductions of Japanese, told a news conference.
Furuya's comments were toned down from his rhetoric of March 18, when he said Japan "would not even spend a penny on assistance" for North Korea or lift the sanctions unless the abduction victims are returned to Japan.