Japan on Friday eased several of its sanctions on North Korea after the two countries made progress this week in talks about Japanese citizens kidnapped by the North Korean regime during the Cold War. The sanctions the Japanese government is lifting or softening include an entry ban on North Korean citizens, an embargo on North Korean ships in Japanese ports and a requirement for reporting movements of money to North Korea. Tokyo is easing some of its unilateral sanctions, but it's sticking to the multilateral ones set out in U.N. resolutions. Japan's move came after the regime in Pyongyang agreed this week to reopen investigations into the decades-old cases of the kidnap victims following talks between the two sides in Beijing.
@highlight
Affected sanctions include an entry ban on N. Korean citizens and an embargo on ships
@highlight
Pyongyang says it is setting up a special committee to investigate the Japanese cases
@highlight
North Korean operatives kidnapped at least 17 Japanese citizens in the '70s and '80s
@highlight
The United States has voiced support for Japan's efforts to resolve the issue
The committee of about 30 officials will look into the cases of "all Japanese" residing in North Korea, the report said, with different panels for abducted @placeholder, missing Japanese and Japanese people's remains.
The committee of about 30 officials will look into the cases of "all Japanese" residing in North Korea, the report said, with different panels for abducted Japanese, missing @placeholder and Japanese people's remains.