The 2nd Criminal Justice Forum for Asia and the Pacific was held on 13 and 14 February 2023.

　The Ministry of Justice of Japan convened the “2nd Criminal Justice Forum for Asia and the Pacific” on 13 and 14 February 2023. The 2nd Forum brought together a large number of participants from the Asia-Pacific region and Japan, both in person and online.
　At the opening ceremony, Mr. SAITO Ken, the Minister of Justice of Japan, delivered the opening remarks, followed by a video message from Ms. Ghada Waly, Executive Director of the UNODC.
　After the ceremony, Minister Saito, the heads of the country delegations, and the members of the “Parliamentary Association on Advancing Justice Affairs Diplomacy to Promote the Rule of Law” took group photos.

　At the plenary session, the heads of the country delegations and organizations each delivered a statement about the overall theme: “Implementing the Kyoto Declaration: Strengthening International Cooperation against Crime in the Asia-Pacific”. From Japan, Mr. KAWAHARA Ryuji, Vice-Minister of Justice delivered a statement.

　During the Forum, two working group sessions on international cooperation in the fields of Mutual Legal Assistance (WG-MLA) and Offender Treatment and Rehabilitation (WG-OTR) were held. Practitioners and experts from the participating countries and organizations shared information and exchanged their views under the themes of: “Specific types of MLA requests – obtaining electronic evidence and witness statements” and “Challenges and developments regarding non-custodial measures and the treatment of offenders”.

　Moreover, bilateral meeting between the heads of delegations were held, and members of delegations were able to get to know each other better to share their expertise face-to-face.

　Furthermore, the Rehabilitation Bureau of the Ministry of Justice of Japan hosted a side event related to the WG-OTR.

Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Canada, China, Indonesia, Japan, Lao PDR, Malaysia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, United States of America, Viet Nam, the ASEAN Secretariat, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) of the United States, the Thailand Institute of Justice (TIJ) and the United Nations Asia and Far East Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (UNAFEI), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)