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Japan’s Efforts to Combat Money Laundering
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Japan has implemented a comprehensive domestic regulatory regime to prevent and detect money laundering. This effort aims to deter and detect illicit financial transactions by ensuring that financial institutions, including banks and non-bank financial institutions, conduct customer due diligence and maintain accurate records.
Domestic Regulatory Regime
According to the Act on Prevention of Transfer of Criminal Proceeds, financial institutions are required to:
- Identify customers and beneficial owners
- Monitor transactions
- Report suspicious activities to the Financial Intelligence Unit
The National Public Safety Commission, responsible for supervising Japan’s financial intelligence center, collects, analyzes, and disseminates information on suspicious transactions to investigative authorities.
International Cooperation
Japan is a member of several international anti-money laundering networks, including:
- The Financial Action Task Force (FATF)
- Asia-Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG)
- Egmont Group
The country has also established a financial intelligence unit, Japan Financial Intelligence Center (JAFIC), which exchanges information with foreign financial intelligence units.
Prevention Measures
To prevent money laundering, individuals who depart or enter Japan are required to declare:
- Cash
- Checks
- Promissory notes
- Securities
- Gold bullion exceeding certain thresholds
Financial institutions must also identify the originator of electronic funds transfers and maintain such information throughout the payment chain.
Regulation of Cooperation and Information Exchange
Japan has implemented measures to regulate cooperation and information exchange with relevant agencies on matters related to:
- Asset declarations
- Real estate transactions
- Tax matters
- Other financial activities
Challenges and Technical Assistance
Despite these efforts, Japan faces challenges in strengthening its anti-money laundering regime. Financial and technical capacity challenges may hinder the ability of agencies involved in combating money laundering to cooperate and exchange information at national and international levels. Coordination among relevant agencies may also pose a challenge.
To address these challenges, Japan has sought technical assistance from international organizations and other countries to enhance its capacity to combat money laundering.
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