Japan to lift some North Korea sanctions amid report of surviving abductees

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan was to decide on Thursday on easing some sanctions on North Korea in return for its reopening of a probe into the fate of Japanese citizens abducted by the reclusive state decades ago, as a fresh report emerged that some of them were alive.

The Nikkei business daily said on Thursday that North Korea had handed Japan names of at least 10 of its nationals said to be living in that country, including some of those believed to have been abducted.