A Japanese daily says Japan's sanctions against North Korea, not damage from recent heavy rains, have caused the North to cancel its annual Arirang Festival.

The Sankei Shimbum said Tuesday that Pyongyang called off the annual event due to expected difficulties to attract a foreign audience after Tokyo banned the North Korean ferry Mangyongbong from entering the Japanese ports for six months.

The newspaper said that Pyongyang had expected some 12-thousand visitors from Japan including those from the pro-Pyongyang General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, or Chochongryon, but the ban has blocked their travel to the North.