N. Korean cargo inspection bill drafted, coast guard as chief actor

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TOKYO, July 6 Kyodo -
The government drafted a bill on Monday for inspecting North Korean cargo in
line with a new U.N. resolution by designating the Japan Coast Guard as its
primary actor and the Self-Defense Forces as a backup in special circumstances,
government officials said.
The project team of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition
partner, the New Komeito party, endorsed the draft bill later in the day. The
bill is expected to be approved by the Cabinet on Tuesday before the government
submits it to the Diet.
If submitted, the bill could clear the Diet before the July 28 end of the
current legislative session. But its passage is far from certain given the
fluid political situation pending a House of Representatives election that must
be held by the fall.
The temporary bill stipulates that inspections should be conducted on ships if
there are reasonable grounds to suspect that they are carrying cargo whose
export from and import to North Korea are banned by U.N. Security Council
Resolution 1874, including ballistic missile-related shipments.
The coast guard would conduct such inspections on the high seas and in Japan's
territorial waters, while customs authorities would do the same at sea ports
and airports, according to the bill.
If the coast guard cannot handle situations alone because, for example, crew
members of a suspect ship are heavily armed, the SDF would take necessary
action under the maritime police action provision of the Self-Defense Forces
Law. Inspections, however, must still be carried out by coast guard officers or
customs officials.
The approval of a ship's master would be required to inspect cargo on the high
seas and in the territorial waters, according to the bill. But if the master
does not agree to a cargo inspection, the ship may be ordered to go to a
Japanese port.
The consent of the country to which the ship in question belongs must also be
obtained to inspect the vessel or in ordering it to go to a Japanese port, the
bill says.
If as a result of an inspection, banned cargo is found, the master of the ship
in question must turn over the cargo to the authorities, which would then keep
it in storage. Refusing to turn over banned cargo would result in a maximum
prison term of two years or up to 1 million yen in penalties.
Even if submitted to the Diet, the bill will face uncertainty. It could be
approved if the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan goes along with the
ruling bloc in enacting it, and Prime Minister Taro Aso does not dissolve the
lower house before the end of the ongoing session.
The government has been working for new, temporary legislation to put into
practice the cargo inspections mapped out in Resolution 1874, which was adopted
unanimously last month to punish North Korea for its recent nuclear test and
rocket launching.
==Kyodo