Five North Koreans were planning to visit Japan seeking the remains of relatives who were forcibly brought to Japan as slave laborers and died there, according to Justice Ministry spokesman Yasuhiro Togo.

The Justice Ministry decided to bar the North Koreans under the limited sanctions that were placed on the country after it test-fired missiles in early July.

He said that the five planned to attend a meeting in Japan calling for return of the remains of North Koreans who had been brought to Japan during the war and died.

Following North Korea's test-firing July 5 of seven missiles into the Sea of Japan, the Japanese government barred a North Korean ferry from Japanese ports.

Tokyo imposed a number of other measures, including barring North Korean officials from entering Japan and conducting stricter screenings for civilians before allowing entry.

The Japan Times Weekly: July 29, 2006
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