The ASEAN Regional Workshop on Border Enforcement on Illicit Trade with Japan Customs was held in Tokyo, Japan, from 1 to 4 December 2025, which is in line with the guidance of by the 29th ASEAN Finance Ministers Meeting (AFMM), the 57th ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM) – 39th AFTA Council (AFTAC) Meeting, and the 5th ASEAN Geoeconomics Taskforce (AGTF) Meeting.

The event facilitated the sharing of best practices on combatting illicit trade in ASEAN and Japan and a roundtable on strengthening public-private partnership in tackling illicit trade. Key areas of discussion included border enforcement methods to tackle illicit trade, Japan’s SMART Customs Initiative 2020 and Action Plan 2022, risk management techniques, and the adoption of digital technologies in customs operations. Participants joined the discussions, shared experiences, and approached the workshop with a practical and solution-oriented mindset.

The workshop is a starting point to kick off a discussion and build a regional work plan to support ASEAN customs to combat illicit trade and illegal transhipment. This is in line with the development of the ASEAN Leaders’ Declaration on Strategic Trade Management for Secured Trade in the Region, which is a proposed Priority Economic Deliverable (PED) for the Philippine ASEAN Chairship in 2026. A key objective of the Declaration is to strengthen regional cooperation and information-sharing to effectively manage trade security challenges and the misuse of trade routes for illicit purposes.

The ASEAN Regional Workshop on Border Enforcement on Illicit Trade with Japan Customs is supported by the Government of Japan through the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF).