Japan might make it mandatory for ships of 100 tons or more to be insured against oil spills -- a move that would bar many North Korean vessels from entering Japanese ports.
The current law governing oil spill compensation only requires tankers to be insured, but the envisioned amendment would cover all vessels, including passenger liners and freighters, if they weigh 100 tons or more.
Uninsured foreign ships cannot enter Japanese ports, and uninsured Japanese ships cannot travel abroad.
The amendment would also allow Japanese authorities to inspect foreign ships at Japanese ports to see if they are appropriately insured.
Only 3 percent of the 1,344 North Korean ships that entered Japanese ports in 2002 were insured.
The government is expected to endorse the bill, drafted by the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry, at a Cabinet meeting on Feb. 24 and submit it to the Diet.
The amendment has been worked out following the grounding and subsequent oil spill from a North Korean cargo ship off the port of Hitachi, Ibaraki Prefecture.