25th anniversary - Japan & the Council of Europe
2021年01月01日
Official commemorative website
25th Anniversary - Japan & the Council of Europe
JAPAN & EUROPE COOPERATION BASED ON SHARED VALUES
Japan joined the Council of Europe in November 1996 as the only participating State from Asia. Japan and Europe share the idea that values and principles of democracy, the rule of law, human rights and fundamental freedoms come foremost within society. In this regard, the participation of Japan in the Council of Europe, the most prominent pan-European institution for the protection and promotion of these values, allows the country to learn from discussions at this international forum to elaborate the domestic human rights system as well as contribute to it from a non-European perspective. This intellectual exchange and information sharing serves as the basis of a strengthening of ties between Japan and Europe, and eventually, deepens the mutual understanding between each other. ...Read More
Japan joined the Council of Europe in November 1996 as the only participating State from Asia. Japan and Europe share the idea that values and principles of democracy, the rule of law, human rights and fundamental freedoms come foremost within society. In this regard, the participation of Japan in the Council of Europe, the most prominent pan-European institution for the protection and promotion of these values, allows the country to learn from discussions at this international forum to elaborate the domestic human rights system as well as contribute to it from a non-European perspective. This intellectual exchange and information sharing serves as the basis of a strengthening of ties between Japan and Europe, and eventually, deepens the mutual understanding between each other.
Throughout 25 years of participation, Japan has supported the activities of the Council of Europe by various means such as: sending Japanese professionals and academics to human rights-related conferences at CoE, organizing a large number of seminars, and making financial contributions to CoE programmes and conferences on safeguarding human rights. In the judicial field, the Supreme Court of Japan has been in close contact with the European Court of Human Rights, and these two institutions periodically exchange their case laws with the objective of enriching the judicial understandings of both sides.
Japan is currently the signatory of four CoE treaties, among which includes the Cybercrime Convention (also known as the Budapest Convention). Japan has been proactively engaged from the earliest stages in the development of this particular Convention, which aims at preventing all sorts of crimes in cyberspace and encouraging international cooperation, to facilitate the procedure starting from identification of suspects to final enforcement of the law. Moreover, we have seen the participation of Japanese politicians and academics in the World Forum for Democracy every year since 2012 as well as Japanese experts in a wide spectrum of conferences and expert meetings such as the Ad-hoc Committee on Artificial Intelligence (CAHAI), the Venice Commission, and the Consultative Council of European Judges (CCJE) to share Japanese views on each issue. With the City of Hamamatsu being a member, the Intercultural Cities Programme (ICC) is also in our scope of attention to pay tribute to its works for the promotion of multicultural integration at the municipal level.
As such, Japan places a great importance on the Council of Europe as the standard-setting human rights organization of Europe. Not only has it been closely following the discussions and activities of the CoE, but Japan also aspires to support some cutting-edge treaties in the field of human rights that may ultimately have a global importance in the future. Each activity of ours as an Observer State may be limited, but we are committed to continuing the cooperation with the Council of Europe for the sake of further development of the human rights in Japan, in Europe and in the world.
Throughout 25 years of participation, Japan has supported the activities of the Council of Europe by various means such as: sending Japanese professionals and academics to human rights-related conferences at CoE, organizing a large number of seminars, and making financial contributions to CoE programmes and conferences on safeguarding human rights. In the judicial field, the Supreme Court of Japan has been in close contact with the European Court of Human Rights, and these two institutions periodically exchange their case laws with the objective of enriching the judicial understandings of both sides.
Japan is currently the signatory of four CoE treaties, among which includes the Cybercrime Convention (also known as the Budapest Convention). Japan has been proactively engaged from the earliest stages in the development of this particular Convention, which aims at preventing all sorts of crimes in cyberspace and encouraging international cooperation, to facilitate the procedure starting from identification of suspects to final enforcement of the law. Moreover, we have seen the participation of Japanese politicians and academics in the World Forum for Democracy every year since 2012 as well as Japanese experts in a wide spectrum of conferences and expert meetings such as the Ad-hoc Committee on Artificial Intelligence (CAHAI), the Venice Commission, and the Consultative Council of European Judges (CCJE) to share Japanese views on each issue. With the City of Hamamatsu being a member, the Intercultural Cities Programme (ICC) is also in our scope of attention to pay tribute to its works for the promotion of multicultural integration at the municipal level.
As such, Japan places a great importance on the Council of Europe as the standard-setting human rights organization of Europe. Not only has it been closely following the discussions and activities of the CoE, but Japan also aspires to support some cutting-edge treaties in the field of human rights that may ultimately have a global importance in the future. Each activity of ours as an Observer State may be limited, but we are committed to continuing the cooperation with the Council of Europe for the sake of further development of the human rights in Japan, in Europe and in the world.