Japan set to enact bill on sanctioning North Korea

Japan's parliament was expected to enact a bill Friday that would impose sanctions on North Korea if it does not cooperate in clearing up its past abductions of Japanese citizens. Japan's upper house scheduled a vote Friday morning on the bill, which passed the more powerful lower house on Tuesday. The legislation would authorize the government to ban the docking of North Korean ships at Japanese ports and stop the private transfer of much needed hard cash from Japan to the reclusive communist country.