Japan lifts sanctions

Press, 14 September 1988, Page 12

Japan lifts sanctions

NZPA-Reuter Tokyo Japan announced yesterday it would lift its sanctions against North Korea on Friday, one day before the Olympic Games open in Seoul. Officials indicated that the decision was part of a deal involving two Japanese sailors held in North Korean jails for the last five years but the announcement made no mention of them. The sanctions were imposed in January after Tokyo accused Pyongyang of involvement in the destruction of a South Korean airliner, killing all 115 people on board. The sanctions included a ban on the entry of North Korean officials into Japan and a ban on official bilateral contacts. The Chief Cabinet Secretary, Keizo Obuchi, said the sanctions had already achieved their aim by showing Japan’s firm attitude towards terrorism. He said the Japanese Government hoped that lifting the sanctions would help ensure the success of the Olympic Games and ease tensions between South and North Korea. The Japan Socialist Party’s secretary-general, Tsuruo Yamaguchi, returning to Tokyo after a visit to North Korea, said Pyongyang was eager to solve the problem of the sailors from the Fujisan Maru No. 18 cargo ship. The seamen were seized by North Korea two months after a North Korean soldier stowed away on their ship and escaped to Japan.