Drawn up by Liberal-Democratic Party lawmakers, the revision to the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Control Law will be used as leverage to pressure North Korea into resolving its nuclear weapons threat and the abductions of Japanese nationals in the 1970s and 1980s.

The economic sanctions include a freeze in remittances and import and export restrictions. The revised law would allow Japan to impose the sanctions without a U.N. resolution or bilateral agreement with another country, which are required under the law.

The Japan Times Weekly: Jan. 31, 2004
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