JAPAN JOINS CONTAINER SECURITY INITIATIVE

JAPAN JOINS CONTAINER SECURITY INITIATIVE    The U.S. Customs Service and Japanese Customs and Tariff Bureau signed an agreement Wednesday that would allow the government of Japan to participate on a pilot basis in Customs’ Container Security Initiative.
   Started in January, CSI is a program designed to prevent the smuggling of terrorist weapons in ocean-going containers, by screening “high risk” containers prior to departure.
   Under terms of the agreement, U.S. Customs officers will be stationed on a pilot basis at the ports of Tokyo, Nagoya, Kobe and Yokohama. These ports are among the top 20 “mega-ports” of the world. Nearly 8 percent of all sea containers arriving in the United States are shipped from these four Japanese ports.
   Japanese Customs officers will be stationed in the U.S. at ports to be determined by the Japanese Customs and Tariff Bureau.
   U.S. Customs will place a small team of personnel in Japan equipped with U.S. targeting databases. They will work with Japanese Customs officials to target sea containers bound for America. Japanese Customs officials, assisted by U.S. Customs personnel, will screen containers identified as a potential terrorist risk.
   “I cannot overstate the importance of the Japanese Customs and Tariff Bureau joining CSI,” said U.S. Customs Commissioner Robert Bonner. “With the major ports of Japan, 11 of the top 20 ports in terms of cargo containers shipped to the U.S. will be implementing the'initiative.”
   In addition to Japan, the United States is implementing CSI with Canada, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, Singapore and Hong Kong. Customs is in discussions with several other nations, including countries in Europe and Asia.