World Trade Organization G/C/W/465 10 June 2003 (03-3015) Council for Trade in Goods Original: English INTERNATIONAL ARCHITECTURE ON TRADE FACILITATION THE WTO AND INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS AND FRAMEWORK Communication from Japan The attached communication, dated 6 June 2003, has been received from the Permanent Mission of Japan. _______________ 1. Introduction This is the fourth paper prepared by Japan, which aims at contributing to the discussions of the Council for Trade in Goods. This paper attempts to set out a lot of activities done by international organizations in the field of trade facilitation, and to indicate the reasons why the WTO needs to engage in. Japan recognizes the importance of trade facilitation when considering its merits in terms of the expansion of trade and investment, of improving government efficiency in collecting revenue and in controlling cargoes, all of which have been presented in the previous Japanese contribut