The Secretary General of the WCO, Kunio Mikuriya, gave a special lecture on 8 November 2016 to WCO scholars at the Ivy Hall in Tokyo.

Participants from the Japan-WCO Scholarship Programme included ten scholars following the Master’s degree programme on Public Finance at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) and ten scholars following the Master's degree programme on Strategic Management and Intellectual Property Rights at Aoyama Gakuin University (AGU).

The Secretary General's lecture focused on the international Customs community's response, through the WCO, to emerging and evolving challenges faced by Customs.  These include connectivity at borders with exponential development in e-commerce, risks along the trade supply chain such as heightened security concerns, cooperation with tax, police and other government agencies, as well as good governance. 

During the interactive session that followed, Dr. Mikuriya answered to questions raised by scholars on the WCO's contribution to the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement, on ways of thinking about the backlash against globalization, and on the ownership approach to Customs reforms.

Programme Directors and Professors from both universities attended the lecture and welcomed the support provided by the WCO and Japan.  In turn, Secretary General Mikuriya commended the Programme as an excellent example of partnership between Customs and universities in addressing the crucial matter of Customs modernization aimed at developing human resources through knowledge, management skills and networks.  He wished the WCO scholars all the best for their future career in Customs, as they would undoubtedly be engaged in shaping Customs in years to come. 

Secretary General Mikuriya also gave a lecture at the Club of the Ministry of Finance about the WCO's role in making Customs responsive to world events and exploring the future evolution of Customs.