The Japan Federation of Bar Associations (JFBA) held the International Arbitration Symposium in Tokyo on April 18, 2006, co-hosted with the International Bar Association, the Japan Commercial Arbitration Association, the Japan Shipping Exchange, Inc., the Japan Association of Arbitrators, the Japan Arbitration ADR Law Association, and the Association for Overseas Technical Scholarship.

There were heated discussions over the themes of the symposium: "Can Japan become an Arbitration Center in Asia?", "FTA/Investment Treaty and International Arbitration", and "Interpretation of Contracts in International Arbitration". All themes were currently hot topics among international arbitrators. 14 international distinguished specialists on arbitration law participated in the symposium as panelists. The symposium attracted various sectors and had over 150 participants including those from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Participants actively exchanged opinions, especially, on a new international dispute arbitration system to be created under free trade agreements and investment treaties, which will be beyond the conventional alternative dispute resolutions in order to resolve disputes between nations and private companies.

22 arbitration specialists invited from 11 Asian countries including Cambodia, Myanmar, Mongolia, Laos, and Kazakhstan also attended the symposium and actively joined the discussions. They were participating in a training program on international arbitration in Asia organized by the Association for Overseas Technical Scholarship. This was a similar project as a training program on competition law in Asia conducted in last year. This year, the symposium and the training program together formed the "International Arbitration Week".