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Chinese man who smuggled one bottle of North Korean beer into Japan charged for breaching sanctions
- Teenager concealed a bottle of Taedonggang beer in luggage before boarding a flight from Shanghai to Japan, in the hope of selling it for a premium online
- Japan has a blanket ban on all imports from North Korea, as part of unilateral economic sanctions over abductions and missile tests
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A Chinese resident of Japan has been charged with violating the foreign trade law for importing a single bottle of North Korean beer.
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The 19-year-old man, who has not been named because he is a youth under Japanese law, has been charged with concealing a bottle of Taedonggang beer in his luggage before boarding a flight from Shanghai to Saga Airport, in southern Japan, in October last year.
According to documents filed with the Fukuoka District Public Prosecutors’ Office, the man did not declare the item to authorities and failed to obtain approval from the trade ministry to bring it into Japan, the Yomiuri newspaper reported.
The unemployed man, who lives in Fukuoka, reportedly told police: “I thought [North Korean beer] could be sold at a high price.”
Japan introduced a blanket ban on all imports from North Korea in 2009, as part of the unilateral economic sanctions imposed over Pyongyang’s abduction of Japanese nationals. Those sanctions have been tightened due to subsequent nuclear tests and missile launches.
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