On the occasion of the G7 Summit organized in Brussels, the Prime Minister of Japan, Mr. Shinzo Abe visited the WCO on 5 June 2014.
The WCO Secretary General, Mr. Kunio Mikuriya expressed his appreciation for the continuous support and contribution that Japan has allocated to a broad range of WCO activities to-date. Furthermore, he emphasized the pivotal role that the WCO and Customs have to play in the protection of society, government tax revenue, and implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement. Trade is an effective driver for economic competitiveness and development. The entire portfolio of WCO activities with regards to Customs reforms and modernization support and enhance the facilitation of global trade and the security and protection of society.
In response, the Prime Minister expressed his continued support to the WCO under the leadership of the Secretary General Mikuriya. He also accorded some words of encouragement to some of the officials working at the WCO Secretariat.
Japan is the second largest financial contributor to the annual WCO budget after the United States, and is also a longstanding donor country to the Customs Cooperation Fund. The year 2014 marks the 50th anniversary of Japan’s membership of the WCO.