{
  "id": 17747565,
  "title": "Korea, Japan seek closer customs cooperation on drugs, counterfeits",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/02/korea-japan-seek-closer-customs-cooperation-on-drugs-counterfeits",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-02T05:12:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/southkorea/law-crime/20261102/korea-japan-seek-closer-customs-cooperation-on-drugs-counterfeits"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Korea and Japan are aiming to strengthen customs cooperation in key areas such as combating drug smuggling, counterfeit products, and cross-border online shopping. This effort is driven by customs officials who wish to safeguard businesses and bolster border security.\n\nDuring a recent meeting in Tokyo, Korea Customs Service Commissioner Lee Jong-wook discussed three areas of collaboration with Mitsuhiro Teraoka, the director-general of Japan's Customs and Tariff Bureau. The conversation took place after their 34th Korea-Japan Customs Chiefs Meeting in Seoul in April, and was organized separately to tackle pressing bilateral concerns following Lee's recent appointment.\n\nOne of the main priorities of this cooperation is to protect Korean and Japanese brands, including popular K-beauty products, from the rising issue of counterfeit goods. In their discussions, the two countries proposed closer enforcement collaboration between their customs authorities. Japan was asked to assist Korean companies in utilizing their system for reporting customs authorities about imports and exports suspected of infringing intellectual property rights.\n\nFurthermore, officials from both nations discussed establishing a system to exchange intelligence on drug seizures and smuggling attempts, further enhancing their joint efforts to maintain a secure and efficient border.",
  "summary": "Korea and Japan are seeking to tighten customs cooperation on drug smuggling, counterfeit products and cross-border online shopping, as officials look to protect businesses and strengthen border security. Korea Customs Service Commissioner Lee Jong-wook met with Mitsuhiro Teraoka, director-general of Japan's Customs and Tariff Bureau, in Tokyo last week to discuss three areas of cooperation, the…",
  "key_points": [
    "Korea and Japan aim to enhance customs cooperation on drug smuggling and counterfeits.",
    "Officials discussed collaboration to protect brands and intellectual property rights.",
    "Intelligence exchange system proposed for drug seizures and smuggling."
  ],
  "editors_take": "Increased intelligence sharing and enforcement collaboration signal a shift toward a unified regional defense against intellectual property theft and the rising threat of illicit cross-border smuggling.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}