The Diet passed a bill Friday that requires the government to impose economic sanctions on North Korea if Pyongyang fails to make progress in addressing its human rights situation, notably resolving the fate of abducted Japanese.
With the enactment, the government hopes to effect the eventual return of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korean agents from the late 1970s to the early 1980s and promote international cooperation in resolving the issue. Pyongyang, however, claims no Japanese abductees remain alive.
The bill cleared the legislature at a plenary session of the Upper House with support from the Liberal Democratic Party, junior ruling bloc partner New Komeito, and the main opposition force, the Democratic Party of Japan. The Lower House passed the bill Tuesday.