Japan will extend its economic sanctions against North Korea, despite some progress in talks on Pyongyang's nuclear disarmament, a top government spokesman said yesterday.
Tokyo will continue banning visits by North Korean ships and all imports from that country as Pyongyang refuses to come clean on its kidnappings of Japanese civilians, Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said.
"There has been basically no progress in the abduction issue. We are not in a situation, objectively speaking, whereby we can stop or ease the sanctions," Machimura, a key member of new Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's Cabinet, told reporters.
Japan imposed the sanctions after Pyongyang conducted its first nuclear test last October.
The package of measures was extended by another six months when it expired in the middle of April as a means to pressure the North to resolve a dispute over the kidnapping by the North of Japanese nationals in the 1970s and 1980s.
The punitive measures, also including a ban on visits by North Korean nationals and another on exports of luxury food items, are seen likely to be also extended by six months, the Jiji and Kyodo news agencies said.
Fukuda emphasized "dialogue" with Kim Jong-il's regime, in contrast to his predecessor who built his political career on acting tough on the North.
There remains strong public resentment in Japan against North Korea's refusal to discuss the abductions.
SECURITY: Taipei presses the US for arms supplies, saying the arms sales are not only a reflection of the US security commitment to Taiwan but also serve as a mutual deterrent against regional threats Taiwan is committed to preserving the cross-strait “status quo” and contributing to regional peace and stability, the Presidential Office said yesterday. “It is an undeniable fact that the Republic of China is a sovereign and independent democratic nation,” Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) reiterated, adding that Beijing has no right to claim sovereignty over Taiwan. The statements came after US President Donald Trump warned against Taiwanese independence. Trump wrapped up a state visit to Beijing on Friday, during which Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had pressed him not to support Taiwan. Taiwan depends heavily on US security backing to deter China from carrying
The subsidiary of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in Kumamoto, Japan, turned a profit in the first quarter of this year, marking the first time the first fab of the unit has become profitable since mass production started at the end of 2024. According to the contract chipmaker’s financial statement released on Friday, Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Inc (JASM), a joint venture running the fab in Kumamoto, posted NT$951 million (US$30.19 million) in profit in the January-to-March period, compared with a loss of NT$1.39 billion in the previous quarter, and a loss of NT$3.25 billion in the first quarter of
RESOLUTE BACKING: Two Republican senators are planning to introduce legislation that would impose immediate sanctions on China if it attempts to invade Taiwan US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson on Sunday reaffirmed US congressional support for Taiwan, saying the US and “all freedom-loving people” have a stake in preventing China from seizing Taiwan by force. Johnson made the remarks in an interview with Fox News Sunday on US President Donald Trump’s summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) last week. In an interview that aired on Friday on Fox News, just as Trump wrapped up a high-stakes visit to China, he said he has yet to green-light a new US$14 billion arms package to Taiwan and that it “depends on China.” “It’s a very good
US President Donald Trump yesterday said he would speak to President William Lai (賴清德) as his administration considers whether to move ahead with a US$14 billion weapons sale to Taiwan — a potential arms deal that has drawn criticism from China. “Well, I’ll speak to him. I speak to everybody,” Trump told reporters yesterday when asked if he had any plans to call his counterpart, although he did not offer a time frame for when such a conversation could take place. Trump previously said he would speak to the person “that’s running Taiwan,” without specifying who he meant. “We have that situation very
RSS