Japan may ban future port calls by a North Korean ship scheduled to visit Niigata next week if the vessel fails to pass strict safety checks set by the government, Shinzo Abe, deputy chief Cabinet secretary, indicated Tuesday.
Abe was speaking with Niigata Mayor Akira Shinoda, who visited Tokyo in an effort to persuade the national government to stop a port call by the Man Gyong Bon-92 scheduled for Monday.
"If we conduct safety inspections, we will surely find defects," Shinoda quoted Abe as telling him.