REPORT OF THE COURSE
The 178th International Training Course on Criminal Justice (Online)“Cybercrime and Digital Evidence”

1. Duration and Participants• From 14 June to 7 July 2022
• 29 overseas participants from 14 jurisdictions
2. Programme Overview
Criminals abuse newest cyber technologies and leave digital footprints at all stages of their activities.
Digital evidence crosses borders so easily that investigation and prosecution have become even morechallenging. This programme provided criminal justice authorities with knowledge and expertise to tackle
all crimes that involve digital evidence. Particular focus was placed on (1) finding, preserving, collecting,analysing and utilizing digital evidence and (2) international cooperation regarding investigation of cybercrimeand all other crimes that involve digital evidence. This programme was exclusively conducted online due tothe Covid-19 pandemic.
3. The Content of the Programme(1) Lectures
Since the participants needed to continue their professional and family duties during the programme,
the lectures were recorded in advance and broadcast on-demand for their convenience, followed bylive Q & A sessions with the lecturers. UNAFEI faculty members gave on-demand lectures on the“Criminal Justice System in Japan”, “The overview of Rules of Evidence in Japan” and “LegalDevelopments Related to Digital Evidence in Japan”. The visiting experts from overseas and Japaneseexperts also gave informative lectures:•Visiting Experts- Ms. Lina Aksu
Judicial Cooperation Officer
Eurojust, SIRIUS Project Team
“Challenges investigating cybercrime and gathering cross-border digital evidence”-•Dr. Thomas DoughertyInternational Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property Attorney for Central, Southern andEastern EuropeU.S. Department of Justice“Effective Use of Digital Evidence in Anti-Corruption Investigations and Prosecutions”

Ad hoc lecturer- Mr. YAMAZAKI Takayuki
Deputy Director, Traffic Planning Division, Traffic Bureau National Police Agency“Tackling Cybercrime at INTERPOL”-Mr. WATANABE Kazuhiko
Assistant Director, Cyber Policy Planning Division Cybercrime Affairs Bureau, National Police
Agency “Cybercrime Realities and Countermeasures”-Mr. HARASHIMA Ichiro Public Prosecutor
Criminal Affairs Department, Osaka District Public Prosecutors’ Office “Practical Operations on
Electronic Evidence, etc.”(2) Group Work
Participants were divided into four groups based on time zones and the themes of their choice for theIndividual Presentations sessions and discussions.

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 Individual Presentations
Participants shared the practices and the challenges in their respective jurisdictions regarding thetheme of the Programme through their individual presentations. All the presentations were recordedand uploaded online for reference by participants in other groups or those who could not attend thesessions.
 Discussions
Participants had fruitful discussions on the themes of the Programme: (i) finding, preserving, collecting,analysing and utilizing digital evidence and (ii) international cooperation regarding investigation of
cybercrime and all other crimes that involve digital evidence.
•Finding, preserving, collecting, analysing and utilizing digital evidenceFirst, common issues mainly discussed were “capacity-building of criminal justice practitioners
dealing with digital evidence”, considering that there were differences in the legal systems andprocedures for the handing of digital evidence in each country. The participants, based on theactual situation in their respective countries, exchanged opinions on the “necessity of acquiring
specialized knowledge” and “enhancement of digital forensic technology and equipment”. Proposals
were made regarding the need for public relations and awareness-raising activities as part ofmeasures against cybercrime, and many pointed out the importance of public-private partnerships
for that purpose.

•International cooperation regarding investigation of cybercrime and all other crimes that involve
digital evidence
Regarding international cooperation, the general issues are the delay in responding to requests formutual legal assistance in investigations, the complexity of procedures, and the small number ofmember countries of the Budapest Convention. As measures to promote international cooperation,
the participants were in favour of promoting informal information exchanges, recognizing thenecessity of collecting and analysing digital evidence in collaboration with law enforcement agencies
in other countries.

(3) Action Plans
Each group concluded the programme by presenting their own action plans based on the challenges
they identified and what they learned in the lectures, presentations by the colleagues and discussions.
4. Feedback from the Participants
Almost all participants commented that they would have preferred face-to- face training in Japan;
however, various lectures and discussions were enriched, and informative knowledge and practices wereexchanged during the online course.
5. Comments from the Programming Officer
The theme of “Cybercrime and Digital Evidence” is an issue that all countries are interested in, and I felt
the enthusiasm of each participant in the course. Information and communication technology is advancing
day by day, and new types of cybercrime are appearing one after another. In this regard, effective
countermeasures against them have become an urgent issue in each country. For this reason, as each lecture
contained cutting-edge knowledge and practical experiences, including contents that were difficult forparticipants to obtain in their own countries, the participants were highly interested, which led to active
discussions. We hope that the knowledge gained from this course will be utilized in the development andenhancement of each participant’s jurisdiction.

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