From 18 to 23 May 2025, Tokyo hosted the IPA Asia-Pacific Regional Conference, attended by representatives of 11 countries, including a delegation from the IPA Russian Section.
Members of the IPA Permanent Executive Bureau and IPA President Martin Hoffmann noted that the IPA Russian Section had put forward a number of useful initiatives of interest to the international police community.
The Permanent Executive Bureau approved the IPA Russian Section’s proposal to hold the International Police Film Festival “Work, brothers!” in Moscow. The initiative will be placed on the agenda of the forthcoming IPA Congress in Kraków.
Each conference delegate received an English-subtitled copy of the film Magomed Nurbagandov. Work, brothers!, which tells the story of the courage of a police officer from Dagestan, for viewing and distribution among police officers in their respective countries.
A video entitled On Police Friendship, prepared by the IPA Russian Section specifically for the conference, was warmly received by the audience.
During a reception hosted by Tokyo Metropolitan Police Commissioner Yuji Sakoda, conference participants were given a detailed introduction to the work of the Tokyo police at the central communications command centre. The Commissioner also spoke positively of the work of the Japan Section of the IPA as a public organisation, which arranges study visits for serving Tokyo police officers to seminars in Gimborn, Germany. As he noted, these visits help officers broaden their professional knowledge and gain a better understanding of the world.
During their stay in Tokyo, delegates had an opportunity to visit the Imperial Palace and to learn about the work of its security service and police personnel, which is not normally open to the public.
The Embassy of the Russian Federation in Japan contributed to the successful work of the Russian delegation at the Tokyo conference.
In his address and discussions on the margins of the conference, Ivan Sardak, Head of the Russian delegation, stated:
“The attempt by a number of unfriendly countries to exclude our country’s section from the international police community has failed. This was confirmed by all participants in the Tokyo meeting of IPA member countries from the Asia-Pacific region.
The world is changing. Many people understand and feel this, and are seeking to reconsider the approaches they adopted earlier. International public organisations are among the bridges of friendship — including the IPA, which this year marks the 75th anniversary of its founding and has 370,000 members.”
International crime is growing by 5% annually, according to UN data. This represents a serious threat to society, and every available capacity and resource must be taken into account in combating this threat.
At the closing evening of the conference, Lieutenant General of Police Ivan Sardak, Head of the IPA Russian Section, presented a certificate of honour to his Japanese colleague, Masahito Kanetaki, the organiser of the meeting.
For reference: at the 2024 Congress in Ohrid, North Macedonia, the Japanese side supported an initiative by several countries to exclude the IPA Russian Section. At the meeting in Japan, an apology was offered for that decision.
The world is changing! 🌎
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