By RYO IKEDA/ Staff Writer
September 6, 2024 at 14:53 JST
YAMAGUCHI—An import and retail company based in Saitama Prefecture and three people including the company representative have been referred to prosecutors for illegally importing shijimi clams from North Korea.
The joint investigation headquarters including Yamaguchi prefectural police sent papers to prosecutors on Sept. 5. It is not known if the three are admitting to or denying the allegations.
According to police, a 37-year-old Chinese representative of the company and two other suspects, including a 64-year-old Japanese employee, imported 17,960 kilograms of shijimi clams from North Korea for 3.4 million yen ($23,966) on Jan. 23, 2020.
The clams were routed through China and South Korea before arriving at Shimonoseki Port in Yamaguchi Prefecture. The suspects were believed to have falsely claimed the goods were sent from Russia.
The Japanese government has banned imports from North Korea since 2006 as part of economic sanctions against the country, which has been conducting nuclear weapons and ballistic missile tests.
The joint investigation headquarters consisting of nine prefectural police departments raided fishery companies and other businesses across Japan in December 2022 on suspicion of violating the Unfair Competition Prevention Law.
The companies were suspected of labeling North Korean shijimi clams as harvested in Japan and selling them as domestic products.
The investigation headquarters believe there is a possibility that funds flowed to North Korea through the illegal imports and is conducting a further investigation for other suspicious activities.
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Shijimi clam soup (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
