The government does not plan to introduce a law banning North Korean ships from entering Japanese ports, government officials said Monday as the North Korean ferry Mangyongbong-92 docked in Niigata.
"We are conducting a thorough inspection and if there are no problems I wonder if we can ban (the ship) from entering," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said in the afternoon.
Japan has no law on banning specific ships from docking at its ports. The international maritime treaty guarantees freedom of navigation.