Article 1The purpose of this Act is, in light of the fact that the series of acts by North Korea, such as conducting nuclear tests and the launching ballistic missiles that may be used as delivery vehicles for weapons of mass destruction have become a threat to the peace and security of the international community, which is a particularly prominent threat for Japan as a neighboring country and that in response to this situation, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has decided in its Resolution 1718 to prohibit exports to and imports from North Korea of nuclear-related materiels, ballistic missile-related materiels or other materiels related to weapons of mass destruction, arms, and other related materiels, and in its Resolution 1874 has strengthened those prohibitive measures and requested the member states of the United Nations to implement cargo inspections, etc. for the objective of ensuring strict implementation of the prohibitive measures by providing for the inspection of specified North Korean cargo conducted as special measures of Japan and other measures, in conjunction with the measures under the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act (Act No.228 of 1949), Customs Act (Act No.61 of 1954), and other related laws and regulations, to ensure the effectiveness of the prohibitive measures through the UNSC Resolutions concerning the series of acts by North Korea, as well as contribute to the elimination of threats to the peace and security of the international community including Japan.

Article 2In this Act, the meanings of the terms stated in the following items are as prescribed respectively in those items:

Article 3(1)The Commandant of the Japan Coast Guard may order coast guard officers to take the following measures, if there are sufficient grounds to find that a vessel in Japan's inland waters is carrying specified North Korean cargo:

(2)The Commandant of the Japan Coast Guard may order coast guard officers to take the following measures, if there are sufficient grounds to find that a vessel in the territorial waters of Japan or on the high seas (including the exclusive economic zone provided for in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea; the same applies below) is carrying specified North Korean cargo:

(3)The Director-General of Customs may order customs officials to take the following measures, if there are sufficient grounds to find that a vessel in Japan's port or an aircraft in Japan's airport (excluding military aircraft and aircraft owned or operated by a foreign government for non-commercial purposes; the same applies below) is carrying specified North Korean cargo:

(4)The Director-General of Customs may order customs officials to inspect cargo, documents, and other objects, question the owner, possessor, administrator, or other persons concerned, or collect samples, limited to the minimum amount necessary for inspection, if there are sufficient grounds to find that the cargo placed in a bonded area (meaning an area prescribed in Article 29 of the Customs Act, and including an area designated by the Director-General of Customs pursuant to the provisions of Article 30, paragraph (1), item (ii) of the Customs Act; the same apples in paragraph (2) of the following Article).

(5)When conducting inspections prescribed in the preceding paragraphs, coast guard officers and customs officials must wear uniforms or carry their identification cards, and present them upon request by the persons concerned, pursuant to the Order of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and Order of the Ministry of Finance.

(6)The authority to conduct inspections under the provisions of paragraphs (1) through (4) must not be construed as authority granted for criminal investigation purposes.

Article 4(1)If the presence of specified North Korean cargo has been confirmed as a result of an inspection under the provisions of paragraph (1) or (2) of the preceding Article, the Commandant of the Japan Coast Guard may order the master, etc. of the vessel to submit the cargo. The same applies when a coast guard officer has found the specified North Korean cargo on a vessel as a result of an on-site inspection under the provisions of the Japan Coast Guard Act (Act No.28 of 1948) and laws other than this Act, and the Commandant has received a report to that effect from the coast guard officer.

(2)If the presence of specified North Korean cargo has been confirmed as a result of an inspection under the provisions of paragraph (3) or (4) of the preceding Article, the Director-General of Customs may order the master, etc. of the vessel, the pilot, etc. of the aircraft, or the owner or possessor of the specified North Korean cargo to submit the cargo. The same applies when a customs official has found specified North Korean cargo on a vessel or an aircraft, or in a bonded area as a result of an on-site inspection under the provisions of Article 105 of the Customs Act, and the Director-General has received a report to that effect from the customs official.

Article 5(1)The Commandant of the Japan Coast Guard or the Director-General of Customs is to store the specified North Korean cargo (referred to as "submitted cargo" below in this Article) which has been submitted pursuant to the provisions of the preceding Article.

(2)When the Commandant of the Japan Coast Guard or the Director-General of Customs has stored the submitted cargo pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the Commandant or the Director-General is to issue public notice of the content of the submitted cargo and other matters prescribed by Order of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and Order the Ministry of Finance, by publication in an Official Gazette, using the internet, or by other appropriate means. In such a case, if the owner of the submitted cargo and the owner's location has been identified, the Commandant or the Director-General is to notify the owner of the matters concerning the public notice.

(3)If the Commandant of the Japan Coast Guard or the Director-General of Customs has stored the submitted cargo pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1), and the situation has come to fall under any of the following cases, the Commandant or the Director-General is to return the submitted cargo to its owner or submitter:

(4)The provisions of paragraph (2) apply mutatis mutandis to the case prescribed in item (i) of the preceding paragraph. In such a case, the term "the content of the submitted cargo" in paragraph (2) is deemed to be replaced with "the fact that the submitted cargo has come to fall under item (i) of the following paragraph".

(5)The Commandant of the Japan Coast Guard or the Director-General of Customs must dispose of the submitted cargo pursuant to the provisions of Cabinet Order, when the submitted cargo falls under a biological weapon defined in Article 2, paragraph (3) of the Act on Implementing the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction and the Other Conventions (Act No.61 of 1982) or a toxin weapon defined in paragraph (4) of that Article, or a chemical weapon defined in Article 2, paragraph (2) of the Act on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the Regultion of Specified Substances (Act No.65 of 1995).

(6)The Commandant of the Japan Coast Guard or the Director-General of Customs may sell the submitted cargo pursuant to the provisions of Cabinet Order, when the cargo falls under either of the following items (when it falls under item (ii), after three months have passed since the date of the issue of the public notice under the provisions of paragraph (2)):

(7)The proceeds resulting from the sale under the provisions of the preceding paragraph (simply referred to as a "sale" below in this Article) may be allocated to cover the expenses required for the sale.

(8)If the submitted cargo has been sold, for the storage, return, and ownership of the submitted cargo, the remaining amount after deducting the expenses required for the sale from the proceeds of the sale is deemed to be the submitted cargo.

(9)The Commandant of the Japan Coast Guard or the Director-General of Customs may dispose of the submitted cargo or implement other dispositions pursuant to the provisions of Cabinet Order, when the submitted cargo falls under either of the items of paragraph (6) and there is no purchaser of the cargo for sale, or when it is found that the expected amount of the proceeds from the sale is to be less than the amount of the expenses required for the sale.

(10)The ownership of submitted cargo is vested in the State, when the case comes to fall under paragraph (3), item (i), and the submitted cargo cannot be returned because the person to whom it should be returned or the person's whereabouts remain unknown, even after one year has passed since the date of the issue of the public notice under the provisions of paragraph (2) as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to paragraph (4), or the person does not receive the submitted cargo.

(11)Beyond what is prescribed in the preceding paragraphs, other necessary matters related to the storage and sale, disposal, or other dispositions of submitted cargo is specified by Order of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and Order of the Ministry of Finance.

Article 6When the Commandant of the Japan Coast Guard intends to take the measures stated in any of the following items and when the grounds prescribed in each of those items exist, the Commandant may order the master, etc. of the vessel to bring the vessel into a Japanese port designated by the Commandant or other places that is found to be possible to smoothly and appropriately implement the measures stated in each of those items:

Article 7(1)When Japan does not give consent to a foreign country for conducting an inspection equivalent to the inspection under the provisions of Article 3 that a foreign authority conducts of a Japanese vessel on the high seas (including an order equivalent to an order under the provisions of Article 4 or the preceding Article or other necessary measures for the inspection), the Minister for Foreign Affairs must promptly notify the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism to that effect.

(2)When the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism receives a notice under the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the Minister must order the master, etc. of the Japanese vessel to bring the vessel into a port designated by the Minister to undergo an inspection under the provisions of Article 3, paragraph (1) or (3), or an inspection conducted by a foreign authority which is equivalent to that inspection. In such a case, if the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism designates a Japanese port, the Minister is to notify the Commandant of the Japan Coast Guard or the Director-General of Customs who has jurisdiction over the port to that effect, and if the Minister designates a port in a foreign country, the Minister is to consult with the Minister for Foreign Affairs.

Article 8(1)An inspection under the provisions of Article 3, paragraph 2 or an order under the provisions of Article 4 or Article 6 concerning a vessel other than a Japanese vessel on the high seas may not be conducted or issued without the consent of the flag state (meaning a country that has the right to fly their flag which is prescribed in Article 91 (2) of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea; provided, however, that this does not apply to a vessel that does not have the nationality that is provided for in Article 91 (1) of that Convention (including a vessel that is deemed to be such a vessel pursuant to the provisions of Article 92 (2) of that Convention).

(2)In addition to what is specified in the preceding paragraph, in enforcing this Act, care must be taken not to preclude the sincere implementation of treaties and other international agreements concluded by Japan, and to adhere to established international laws and regulations.

Article 9The relevant administrative organs are to maintain close contact with each other and cooperate to achieve the purpose referred to in Article 1.

Article 10The matters that fall under the authority of the Commandant of the Japan Coast Guard pursuant to the provisions of this Act may be delegated to the Commander of a Regional Coast Guard Headquarters as specified by Order of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

Article 11The provisions of Chapter 3 of the Administrative Procedure Act (Act No.88 of 1993) do not apply to an order under the provisions of Article 4 or Article 6.

Article 12Beyond what is provided for in this Act, necessary matters for the enforcement of this Act are specified by Cabinet Order.

Article 13A person who has disobeyed an order issued under the provisions of Article 4 is sentenced to imprisonment of not more than two years or a fine of not more than 1 million yen.

Article 14A person who falls under any one of the following items is sentenced to imprisonment of not more than one year or a fine of not more than 5 hundred thousand yen:

Article 15Japanese laws and regulations (including penal provisions) apply to the performance of duties by Japanese public employees outside Japan concerning measures under the provisions of Article 3, paragraph (2) and Article 4 through Article 7 for vessels other than Japanese vessels on the high seas, and actions that obstruct the performance of those duties.