The Japanese government held a Cabinet meeting Friday and extended unilateral sanctions on North Korea for two more years as existing measures expire this coming Thursday.

The sanctions include banning entry of North Korean vessels into Japanese ports, including those for humanitarian purposes. Any trade with the North is also prohibited.

These two measures were imposed from 2006 and 2009, respectively.

Tokyo believes that it needs to continue to put pressure on Pyongyang as the regime continues provocations, and also as there's little progress in resolving the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea.

In December, Japan imposed additional sanctions on the North, including an expanded port entry ban and the freezing of assets of eleven North Korean organizations and 18 individuals related to nuclear and missile development. 

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