(1) Measures taken by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development

  The “Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions” was adopted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 1997. In Japan, in order to domestically implement it, the Unfair Competition Prevention Act (Act No. 47 of 1993) was amended in 1998 to additionally criminalize the act of providing unlawful profit to a foreign public officer etc. (enforced since 1999). The Convention came into effect in 1999.

(2) Countermeasures taken by the U.N.

  The “U.N. Convention against Corruption” was adopted at the U.N. General Assembly in October 2003, which requires each country to criminalize bribery to foreign public officials etc. and constructs the framework for recovery of proceeds gained by corruption to the country from which they originated. In Japan, the conclusion of the convention was approved by the Diet on June 2, 2006 (not concluded as of July 2007, as its related domestic acts have not yet been enacted).