Posted February. 06, 2005 22:34,
Instead of imposing full-scale economic sanctions on North Korea that some Japanese politicians are demanding, including those from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), the Japanese government decided to impose sanctions in two stages.
The Asahi Shimbun reported on Saturday that government officials, including Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, are skeptical about the effect of the economic sanctions.
Asahi reported that a study whether to impose economic sanctions such as restricting money remittances and discontinuing trade with North Korea, pressuring North Korea by strictly applying current laws, will be carried out.
Recently, the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries instructed each district to make sure that the labels of origin on short-necked clams are properly applied. The boycott against short-necked clams from North Korea has already started, with its proponents concluding that reinforcing label of origin measures will help put pressure on North Korea since it is difficult to disguise the origin of short-necked clams from North Korea.
Last year, Japan imported about 3.95 billion yen (about 39.5 billion won) worth of short-necked clams from North Korea, composing 22 percent of its total imports from North Korea.