Dear readers,

It is a great pleasure and honor to extend my greetings from Bangkok. My name is Norikazu KURAMOTO as the new Head of the ROCB A/P for the next five years.

It is indeed a great honor and privilege to assume the post of the Head of the ROCB A/P which is the focal point of the capacity building activities in the Customs field for the regional Members.

I would like to briefly touch on some of my background. I have worked for Japan Customs, Ministry of Finance for almost 30 years. During my Customs career, I had been dedicated to various operational fields for the first 15 years, for example import and export clearance, passenger inspection, Customs laboratory, and trade statistics.

I have also worked for Japan Customs headquarters for the latter 15 years, which includes an overseas posting in the United States. The work experiences related to international affairs and capacity building are the great majority of my career. I strongly believe that my experience and knowledge will greatly contribute to the ROCB A/P and its endeavors.

I am very glad to work closely with Members in the Asia Pacific region. I look forward to every single opportunity to work with you.