ASEANPOL Secretariat Welcomes Japan’s Legal Attache to Strengthen Cooperation Against Scam Centers and Trafficking in Persons
On 25 June 2025, the ASEANAPOL Secretariat in Kuala Lumpur warmly received ITO Atsushi, Counsellor (Legal Attaché) of the Mission of Japan to ASEAN, for a high-level courtesy visit. Executive Director Police Colonel David Martinez Vinluan, together with Secretariat staff, welcomed counsellor Ito as part of his sideline engagements to the 25th ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Transnational Crime (SOMTC) held in Putrajaya.
This visit reaffirmed the deepening partnership between ASEANAPOL and Japan in addressing one of the region’s most pressing non-traditional security threats, scam call center operations linked to human trafficking and forced criminality. Counsellor Ito’s visit also served as a precursor to a strategic virtual meeting held on 4 July 2025 between the ASEANAPOL Secretariat, SOMTC Japan, SOMTC Singapore, and the JAIF Management Team.
