Japanese Right-wingers Threats Against Entry of NK Ship

There is a mounting tension in Japan as the North Korean cargo-passenger ship Man Gyong Bong-92 is expected to call at Niigata-Nishi Port on Monday for the first time in seven months.

The nation`s right-wingers are gathering in Niigata in order to stage a protest in an attempt to stop the ship from entering. Moreover, there is a series of terrorism threats in the buildings and banks related to the pro-North Korean General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon) in Japan.

The Man Gyong Bong left Wonsan Port in North Korea on Saturday afternoon and is expected to arrive at Niigata-Nishi Port on Monday morning around 8:45 a.m., said a government official Sunday. The call of the Man Gyong Bong, the only non-regular cargo-passenger ship between Japan and the North, is the first time since January this year

The cargo-passenger ship cancelled a plan to call at Niigata-Nishi Port in June due to the protest by the right-wing organizations, which demanded that the government strengthen inspection and the North resolve the abduction matter.

Families of kidnapped Japanese people call on the government not to permit the entry of the ship. Right-wing organizations are poised to mobilize 130 cars to wage a protest in downtown Niigatta and at the port.

The government deployed 2,000 police officers around the port against possible confrontations between right-wingers and the Chongnyon. In addition, the Construction and Transport Ministry, the Japan Coast Guard, the Customs and Tariff Bureau made clear its plans to implement a strict watch on and inspection of the ship when it docks at the port. The Japan Coast Guard and other organizations carried out exercises on Saturday in case that the cabin crews disturb the inspectors.

If the ship is not equipped with proper safety devices in accordance with the internationally acknowledged treaty, the government will not allow the ship to leave the port. Or the ship may have to leave the port without some 200 pro-Pyongyang Korean residents in Japan, the Yomiuri Shimbun said.

The Japanese government, however, is reported to be considering how far the inspections should be implemented in fear of adverse influence on the six-party talks scheduled for Aug. 27.

Meanwhile, residents evacuated on Saturday night since bomb-like bottles were found near the Chongnyon branch and a bank related to the organization in Fukuoka. In another branch of the bank in Okayama were traces of bullets at the entrance door.

A mysterious man, who identified himself as a member of a right-wing organization, called a media company and said that his organization was responsible for those acts. “It was a protest against the entry of a lawless country`s ship,” he said.

parkwj@donga.com