The government's decision last week to lift the ban on chartered flights between Japan and North Korea comes amid an easing of tensions on the Korean Peninsula. The ban was part of the economic sanctions that Tokyo imposed in August last year to protest the test-firing of a Taepodong ballistic missile.
Japan took this step in response to a North Korean pledge to suspend the scheduled launch of an advanced version of the missile. The United States had already lifted some of the sanctions it imposed after the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950.
These moves are welcome. Japan, along with other nations involved, should seize the opportunity to begin improving relations with the North Koreans. The resumption of chartered flights, however, is only the first step in this direction. There are still many obstacles that must be cleared.