Officials of the Liberal Democratic Party and its ruling bloc partner, New Komeito, reached a final agreement Wednesday on proposed legislation that would allow Japan to ban port calls by North Korean ships.
With the accord, the ruling alliance will submit the bill to the Diet as soon as possible during the current session once it goes through formal approval procedures within the two parties, the officials said.
Earlier in the day, the secretaries general and Diet affairs chiefs of the two parties agreed that the bill should be submitted hopefully next week.
The bill will be another tool via which Japan can unilaterally impose economic sanctions on North Korea by halting the flow of goods and people between the two countries, following the enactment earlier this year of a law for halting cash remittances.
Earlier, New Komeito, which has maintained a cautious stance on the matter, had called for strict criteria before Japan could ban port calls.
But the party eased its position during a working-level meeting with the LDP in order to make the bill effective as a diplomatic card targeting Pyongyang, the officials said.