Issues have been raised within the Japanese government over the effectiveness of Tokyo’s participation in efforts to make mandatory the inspection of cargo coming in and out of North Korea.

The Yomiuri Shimbun said Friday that the U.S. and Japan are seeking to make mandatory such inspections in a new U.N. resolution sanctioning North Korea in the wake of its second nuclear test.

However, the daily said that even if the U.N. decides to make such inspections mandatory, it would not be easy for Japan to fully take part in such efforts due to Japan’s laws that prohibit the Maritime Self-Defense Forces and the Japan Coast Guard from inspecting ships of other countries.

The paper cited that the U.N. is proposing its member nations inspect shipments of cargo going to and from North Korea for weapons of mass destruction. Similar requests of member nations were made under U.N. Resolution 1718, which was adopted when the North conducted its first nuclear test in October of 2006, but Japan did not observe that clause.