Justice Minister Visited the United Kingdom and Austria
Justice Minister Kamikawa visited London, the United Kingdom (UK) and Vienna,
Austria from May 3 to 6, 2018. During her visit, Minister Kamikawa called for
participation in, and support for, the 14th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention
and Criminal Justice, which is to be held in Kyoto in 2020 ("the Kyoto Congress").
Minister Kamikawa further visited a prominent arbitral institution to strengthen
mutual cooperation and also visited relevant authorities to establish cooperation
frameworks in related fields, such as immigration. An overview of the visit is as follows.
OVERVIEW
1. The UK
In the UK, Minister Kamikawa held a meeting with the Second Permanent
Secretary of the Home Office and visited the London Court of International Arbitration
(LCIA) and Wormwood Scrubs Prison.
Minister Kamikawa is confident that the top-level meetings with the Home Office
and LCIA will contribute to stronger cooperation and collaboration frameworks.
Home Office
Minister Kamikawa held a meeting with Ms. Patsy Wilkinson, the Second
Permanent Secretary of the Home Office of the U.K. They exchanged views on
establishing a cooperation framework between the authorities of the two countries in
various fields, including immigration.
Minister Kamikawa also called for participation in, and support for, the Kyoto
Congress from the Home Secretary and other high-level officials of the U.K.
Photo 1: Second Permanent Secretary Wilkinson and Minister Kamikawa
LCIA
Minister Kamikawa visited the LCIA, which is one of the most prominent
international arbitration institutes. Minister Kamikawa held a meeting with Mr.
Audley Sheppard QC, the Chair of the LCIA, and discussed strengthening cooperation
between the LCIA and the Ministry of Justice of Japan and measures to promote
international arbitration in Japan.
Photo 2: Chair Sheppard and Minister Kamikawa
Victim Support Groups
Minister Kamikawa exchanged views with leaders of two crime-victim support
groups in the UK: Rape Crisis England and Wales and Victim Support. The leaders
provided in-depth insights from the experience of their staff working at the frontier of
victim support.
Photo 3: Leaders of victim support groups and Minister Kamikawa
Wormwood Scrubs Prison
Minister Kamikawa visited Wormwood Scrubs Prison, which is located in the
suburbs of London, and exchanged views with prison staff and authorities on various
subjects, including conditions in prison and prevention of reoffending.
Japanese Companies and Organizations in the UK
Minister Kamikawa exchanged views with leaders of Japanese companies and
organizations in the U.K. The topics of discussion included: effects of the U.K.’s exit
from the European Union on Japanese companies; risk of legal disputes for companies
operating overseas; dispute resolution measures including international arbitration;
and efforts to promote the active role of women in companies.
Photo 4: Leaders of Japanese companies in the U.K. and Minister Kamikawa
2. Austria
In Vienna, Minister Kamikawa held a meeting with Mr. Yuri Fedotov, Executive
Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
In relation to the Kyoto Congress, they exchanged views on strengthening
partnership between the UNODC, which functions as the secretariat of the Congress,
and the Ministry of Justice of Japan to host an event in which youth can provide input
on the formulation of UN’s crime prevention and criminal justice policies.
Photo 5: Executive Director Fedotov and Minister Kamikawa