Japan must watch out for possible terror attacks by North Korea in response to Tokyo's sanctions after the North's claimed nuclear test, Japanese police warned yesterday as government leaders said they were considering further sanctions.
"There are concerns that North Korea may launch a large scale terrorist attacks or sly and heinous activities in retaliation to [Japan's] additional sanctions," Deputy Director General Hiroto Yoshimura of the National Police Agency said.
Yoshimura was addressing the first meeting of a security task force that he heads following North Korea's alleged nuclear test on Oct. 9, public broadcaster NHK said.
PHOTO: EPA
Yoshimura told task force members to step up security and intelligence activities to avoid any possible retaliation by North Korea.
Japan on Friday closed ports to North Korean ships, banned trade with the North and is currently considering further sanctions in line with the resolution made by the UN Security Council [UNSC].
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki said the government was studying what else could be added to Japan's list of sanctions already place and would rapidly put the additional measures in place.
"For sections under the UNSC resolution that have not been carried out by Japan, we hope to consider them promptly and then decide on our future actions in line with the UN sanctions committee," Shiozaki said. "It is our natural obligation to fully implement the UNSC resolution."
Separately, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that Japan would consider additional measures by "taking into consideration actions by international society."
Japanese officials have also been discussing whether Tokyo would be able to assist US forces in boarding North Korean ships for searches sanctioned under the UNSC resolution.
Defense Agency chief Fumio Kyuma said yesterday that the government would closely study the situation in areas around Japan to determine its course of action.
"The situation changes minute by minute. The government will need to finalize its decision based on parliamentary debate as the situation continues to develop," Kyuma told a committee in parliament.
Meanwhile, in response to comments by Shoichi Nakagawa -- chairman of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's policy research council -- that Japan should debate posessing nuclear weapons, Shiozaki denied that possessing the weapons was being considered an option.
"We will maintain our three non-nuclear principles. There is no change whatsoever to our government's position that Japan will not possess any nuclear weapons," Shiozaki said.
Nakagawa reportedly made his comments on a Sunday morning talk show.
Japan's pacifist Constitution bars the use of force to settle international disputes and Japan has maintained a policy of not producing, possessing or allowing nuclear weapons into the country.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
RIVER TRAGEDY: Local fishers and residents helped rescue people after the vessel capsized, while motorbike taxis evacuated some of the injured At least 58 people going to a funeral died after their overloaded river boat capsized in the Central African Republic’s (CAR) capital, Bangui, the head of civil protection said on Saturday. “We were able to extract 58 lifeless bodies,” Thomas Djimasse told Radio Guira. “We don’t know the total number of people who are underwater. According to witnesses and videos on social media, the wooden boat was carrying more than 300 people — some standing and others perched on wooden structures — when it sank on the Mpoko River on Friday. The vessel was heading to the funeral of a village chief in