Japan’s Kyodo News says the Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's administration has decided not to impose additional sanctions against North Korea.

The report said Sunday that Noda’s predecessor, Naoto Kan, had ordered government agencies to consider boosting sanctions against the North if the communist state failed to accept Tokyo’s call to re-investigate cases involving Japanese abductees in the North.

However, Kyodo said Noda’s administration decided to put off a decision on seeking further sanctions amid concerns that such a move could give the impression that Japan is hampering recent efforts by the two Koreas and the U.S. to create a mood for dialogue.