According to the BBC, the sanctions include remittances, travel bans and a prohibition on entry into Japanese ports for North Korean ships.
North Korea has admitted to kidnapping 13 Japanese citizens in the period from 1977 to 1983. Five abductees were released in 2002 and 2004, and Pyongyang claimed that the remaining eight had died.
Tokyo introduced sanctions against Pyongyang in 2006. In July 2014, North Korea launched a probe over the missing Japanese nationals. In response to the establishment of the investigation committee by North Korea, Japan agreed to ease some sanctions on North Korea.
Tokyo has consistently urged North Korea to release its hostages, believing that hundreds more may have been abducted.
The motives behind the abductions are not clear. However, according to local media reports, the Japanese were reported to have been abducted and used as Japanese language and culture teachers for North Korean spy organizations.
