The Cabinet on Friday approved new unilateral sanctions against North Korea that will for the first time freeze the assets of entities and individuals not associated with its nuclear arms and missile programs, a government official said.
At a trilateral summit in Germany earlier this month, the leaders of Japan, the United States and South Korea agreed to increase pressure on Pyongyang to push it to "refrain from provocative and threatening actions."
The United States has indicated it will impose additional sanctions on Chinese companies doing business with North Korea.
The new sanctions by the Japanese government will be levied on five organizations, including two Chinese firms and nine individuals engaged in financial services, transport operations and exports of minerals such as coal, the official said.
North Korea's testing of nuclear and ballistic missile technology is banned by the United Nations and is the subject of multiple international sanctions.