Could you imagine what the reaction would be if the Japanese began unilaterally inspecting North Korean cargo ships?:

Japan’s national broadcaster says a group of lawmakers in Japan’s ruling camp are pushing for the Maritime Self-Defense Force to take part in cargo inspections of North Korean ships suspected of transporting illegal weapons.

The NHK report said Monday that defense-related lawmakers in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party have made the call as the Japanese government is seeking to draw up a special bill this week regarding inspections of North Korean ships. The bill would reportedly give the Japan Coast Guard, not the Maritime Self-Defense Force, the key role in conducting ship inspections.

NHK said the legislators are pressuring the government to expand Japan’s role in inspections by including the Maritime Self-Defense Force, citing the importance of relations with the U.S. Navy.

The report forecast that the envisioned bill is unlikely to include the maritime branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, as some lawmakers of the main opposition Democratic Party are strongly opposed to the measure.  [KBS Global]

I doubt the Japanese will inspect any ships and this is probably just something being done for domestic political reasons, but it would still be interesting to see how nations in the region would react to the Japanese unilaterally inspecting ships.  You could rest assured that the usual suspects in South Korea would be protesting up a storm claiming the invasion of Dokdo would be next.