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1 Measures against transnational organized crimes and terrorism
(1) Measures taken by the U.N.
In 2000, the U.N. adopted the “U.N. Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.” This Convention requires each member country to criminalize participation in criminal activities involving transnational organized crime groups, money laundering, and bribery and corruption, etc. and also provides regulations for the confiscation of crime proceeds, extradition of offenders involved in organized crime, and assistance in investigations, etc. In addition, protocols supplementing the Convention were also adopted by the U.N. by 2001, namely the “Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children” (Human Trafficking Protocol), the “Protocol Against Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air” (Smuggling Protocol), and the “Protocol Against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, their Parts and Components and Ammunition” (Firearms Protocol). Japan has not concluded the said Convention and Protocols yet. However, as a national collateral act for the Human Trafficking Protocol and the Smuggling Protocol, the Act for Partial Amendment of the Penal Code, etc. (Act No. 66 of 2005) was enacted and partially enforced in 2005 to provide for the establishment of penal provisions concerning human trafficking, etc.
The U.N. has consistently been adopting international conventions, etc. to establish jurisdiction for the punishment of terrorists, etc. In 1999, the “International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism” was adopted. Japan concluded this convention in 2002 and at this time concluded all the 12 counterterrorism conventions and protocols.
Furthermore, after the multiple-concurrent terrorist attacks in the U.S. on September 11, 2001, there has been a movement to amend existing counterterrorism conventions. In 2005, the International Atomic Energy Agency adopted an amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and the International Maritime Organization adopted an amended protocol of the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation and an amended protocol of the Protocol for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Fixed Platforms Located on the Continental Shelf. The U.N. also adopted a new counterterrorism convention, the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism in 2005, which Japan concluded in 2007.
(2) Measures taken by G8
a. G8 Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial Meeting
At the G8 Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial Meeting, the Minister of Justice and Cabinet ministers in charge of Internal Affairs, etc. of the G8 (collectively refers to Japan, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States of America) and the European Union meet and discuss common matters of concern, with the main focus on countermeasures against transnational organized crime and terrorism. When it first commenced in 1997, the main focus of this meeting was on countermeasures against transnational organized crime. Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the U.S. in 2001, however, the meeting took up countermeasures against terrorism as its main agenda item. The meeting is currently being held annually in a G8 chair country about a month before the summit, and is positioned as a ministerial level conference related to the summit.
b. Measures taken by the Rome and Lyon Groups
The Counterterrorism Experts Group (commonly known as the Rome Group) has been established within the G8 in 1978 and its members have been exchanging opinions on trends in international terrorism, etc. The Senior Experts Group on Transnational Organized Crime (commonly known as the Lyon Group) was decided to be established at the summit in 1995. The Lyon Group presented 40 Recommendations to Combat Transnational Organized Crime Efficiently in 1996 to deter transnational organized crime in a more efficient manner. Discussions have subsequently been held on methods of investigation and regulations to cope with transnational organized crime such as smuggling/trafficking firearms, drugs and humans, cybercrime, money laundering, corruption including bribery, etc. Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the U.S. in 2001, the Rome Group and the Lyon Group have been holding joint meetings, and in 2002 reviewed the abovementioned Recommendations and adopted the G8 Recommendations on Transnational Crime that provide countermeasures against terrorism in addition to countermeasures against transnational organized crime.
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