4th Criminal Justice Forum for Asia and the Pacific (Crim-AP)
The 4th Criminal Justice Forum for Asia and the Pacific was held in Tokyo from 24 to 26 June 2025.
As in previous forums, a large number of criminal justice practitioners from Asia and the Pacific region, including Japan, participated in the forum both in-person and online. Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Justice of Japan, Mr. KANDA Junichi delivered the opening remarks at the opening ceremony on behalf of the Ministry of Justice of Japan.
After the opening ceremony, criminal justice practitioners were divided into the Working Group on Mutual Legal Assistance (WG-MLA) and the Working Group on Offender Treatment and Rehabilitation (WG-OTR). WG-MLA shared and summarized information on the MLA legal frameworks and practices in each country based on the previous three meetings, and also held a special session with the South East Asia Justice Network (SEAJust) (※). In the WG-OTR, practitioners shared information and exchanged views under the theme of “Ensuring multi-stakeholder collaboration and an all-of-society approach for reducing reoffending”.
(※) A judicial cooperation network was established in 2020, aimed at sharing information among central authorities in South East Asia and other countries/regions for mutual legal assistance in criminal matters.
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Special session with SEAJust
During the Forum, products made in prisons from participating countries were displayed, and a tour for WG-OTR participants to prison and offender rehabilitation facilities was held. Furthermore, delegations engaged in bilateral meetings and actively exchanged views.
Participating Countries/Organizations
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, ASEAN Secretariat, Thailand Institute of Justice (TIJ), United Nations Asia and Far East Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (UNAFEI) , United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)