Japan has taken a hard line since North Korea fired seven missiles in its direction on July 5, taking a series of measures to punish the impoverished communist state.

"The government is taking the position that it will handle entries of North Korean nationals severely due to the launches of the ballistic missiles," an official at the Immigration Bureau said.

"Since there is no North Korean diplomatic office in Japan, we received the request for their entry through the channel of Korean groups in Japan," he said.

"After discussing the case with other related offices and agencies, we informed them of the rejection today."

The North Korean group -- three relatives, one translator and an administrator -- had wanted to collect the remains of Koreans who were forcibly brought to Japan during its 1910-1945 colonial rule.

"This issue of the remains of Koreans, brought to Japan against their will, goes back before the peninsula was divided into the North and the South," said a member of a non-governmental organization involved in the repatriation project.

"Although the missile firings were an unfortunate incident, we hoped the Japanese government would handle the case as a positive message to solve the issue in a humanitarian way," said the organizer, who declined to be named.

Japan has banned a major North Korean ferry link, visits by diplomats and charter flights since Pyongyang's tests of seven missiles, which included a long-range Taepodong-2 believed to be capable of reaching US soil.

North Korea tested a Taepodong-1 in 1998 that flew over Japan into the Pacific Ocean, stirring widespread jitters here.

Japan's approach has been strongly criticized by South Korea, which is reconciling with its communist neighbor and remains bitter over Japan's bloody colonial rule.

North Korea is widely reviled in Japan for its kidnappings of Japanese civilians during the 1970s to 1980s.

Japan says North Korea has not come clean on the fate of kidnap victims, while Pyongyang counters that Tokyo has not fully accounted for Koreans enslaved during the colonial era.

A newspaper reported Monday that Japan planned further sanctions by tightening rules on companies which do business with the impoverished communist state.

Some 300 Japan-based companies would be required to disclose the destination of goods that could benefit North Korea's military, even if the exports are to third countries, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported, quoting unnamed sources.

Japan also announced earlier that it planned to impose financial sanctions. Tokyo has not yet announced details, but the restrictions could include banning North Koreans in Japan from sending money home.

North Korea conducts the vast majority of its trade with China and South Korea, although it has also benefited from remittances by Koreans in Japan.

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