Japan halted imports from the North and closed its ports to the Communist state's vessels in October 2006, after Pyongyang conducted a nuclear weapons test and test-fired ballistic missiles over the Sea of Japan. It has since extended the sanctions three times.
The move came amid a deadlock in six-party talks to persuade North Korea to drop its nuclear ambitions in exchange for economic aid and diplomatic incentives. The country shut down its main nuclear reactor last year, but missed the December 31 deadline to give a full account of its nuclear programs.
The United States, which is involved in the denuclearization talks along with China, Russia, Japan, and South Korea, suspects Pyongyang of pursuing a secret uranium enrichment program and selling nuclear technology to Syria.
Tokyo has also accused Pyongyang of failing to return its citizens abducted by Korean security services in the 1970s-80s. The North has acknowledged that it kidnapped 13 Japanese nationals, and sent five of them home, but insists that the rest are dead.
"We hope the North Korean side will understand that these sanctions could be completely lifted if there were to be no nuclear (weapons and programs in North Korea) and all abduction victims are returned to Japan,'' Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura told a news conference as quoted by Japan's Kyodo agency.
Japan's sanctions also include a ban on entry to the country for North Korean nationals.
