The Minister of Justice of Armenia, Rustam Badasyan, on Monday met with the Minister of Justice of Japan, Yoko Kamikawa.

Badasyan is attending the 14th UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (UNODC), from March 5 to 11, in Kyoto, Japan.

Minister Badasyan noted that Armenia and Japan have many similarities: ancient civilization, rich culture, and innovative spirit. He praised Japan's position in the UN Human Rights Council on the matter of return of Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan, as well as the Japanese government's $3.6mn humanitarian aid to Armenia to counteract the effects of the recent Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) war. The minister of justice of Armenia added that during this war war, the Armenian people had witnessed numerous gross violations of international conventions.

Minister Kamikawa, in turn, stressed the importance of effective bilateral cooperation and expressed readiness to continue it. She expressed hope that the Kyoto Declaration—adopted at the aforesaid Congress—would be a benchmark for countries to strengthen the rule of law, and assured that Japan, as the country chairing the Congress, will continue contributing to the establishment of the rule of law.

Afterwards, the ministers exchanged views and stressed that high-level mutual contacts are a good basis for the deepening of bilateral cooperation.