Original Coverage & Source Attribution: www.asahi.com
A senior official of a pro-North Korea group, who is believed to be prohibited from re-entering Japan after visiting North Korea under Japanese sanctions, was allowed to return to Japan, sources said.
The Japanese government also permitted the re-entry of another sanctioned individual in April, raising questions about the consistency of its policy.
The official of the pro-Pyongyang General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon) re-entered Japan after traveling to North Korea between late August and mid-September.
According to sources close to the Japanese government, the individual was elected director of Chongryon’s education bureau in May.
Although the government does not disclose its list of sanctioned persons, members of Chongryon’s central standing committee, which consists of the chairman, the first vice chairman, bureau directors and other senior officials, are in principle, barred from re-entering Japan after visiting North Korea.
The education bureau director is said to fall within that category.
Government officials said that an education delegation, including the education bureau director, visited North Korea from Aug. 29 to Sept. 12 to attend the 15th National Conference of Teachers in Pyongyang.
According to the Korean Central News Agency, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un posed for a commemorative photograph with conference participants on Sept. 4, shaking hands with each member of the delegation and calling on them to “nurture more talented individuals.”
The Japanese government also allowed the re-entry in April of the chairman of North Korea’s chamber of commerce and industry in Japan, who also serves as a deputy to North Korea’s Supreme People’s Assembly, the country’s parliament.
According to government officials, the education bureau director was likewise granted a re-entry permit listing North Korea as the destination of travel.
As for why re-entry was allowed, the sources close to the government suggested, “There may have been errors in procedures or communication among Japanese government ministries and agencies.”
On the other hand, some members of the North Korean community in Japan speculate that the Japanese government may have taken a more flexible approach with a view to reopening dialogue with North Korea.
According to the North Korean community members living in Japan, Kim Jong Un has in recent years placed greater emphasis on generational change within the Korean community in Japan and on educational affairs.
However, Pyongyang has been strengthening ties with China and Russia, and it continues to repeatedly criticize Japan. There is currently no prospect of reopening Japan-North Korea dialogue.
