Press Releases
Report of activities to Foreign Minister HAYASHI by Ambassador HORINOUCHI, Candidate for the election of the members of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea to be held in 2023
On August 15, Mr. HAYASHI Yoshimasa, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, received a report of activities from Mr. HORINOUCHI Hidehisa, Ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of Japan to the Netherlands and for the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, that Japanese government have decided to nominate as its candidate for the election of the members of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea to be held in 2023. The overview of the meeting is as follows:
- Ambassador HORINOUCHI reported his activities, in particular those related to the election of the members of ITLOS to be held in 2023 as its candidate, and stated that he would continue to work vigorously toward the election.
- Minister HAYASHI stated that Japan, as a maritime nation, attaches more importance to ITLOS which contributes significantly to the protection and development of the maritime order based on UNCLOS, and that as Japan intends to make personnel contributions to ITLOS, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would continue to proactively request support from each country for Ambassador HORINOUCHI.
- (1) ITLOS was established in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), in 1996 in Hamburg, Germany, with the mandate of judicial settlement of disputes related to the interpretation and application of the Convention. The Tribunal is composed of 21 independent members. UNCLOS entered into effect in 1994 and currently has 167 State Parties and one region (EU). Japan ratified UNCLOS in 1996.
- (2) Seven members are reelected by the election to be held every three years during the Meeting of States Parties to United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The next election will take place in June 2023.
- (3) To date, Japan has produced two members of ITLOS, Mr. YAMAMOTO Soji (from October 1, 1996, to September 30, 2005) and Mr. YANAI Shunji (in office since October 1, 2005).
Born in 1957. Graduated from the University of Tokyo, Faculty of Law, and joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1980, where he served as Deputy Director-General (Intelligence and Analysis Service), Deputy Director-General (International Legal Affairs Bureau), Minister at the Embassy of the People's Republic of China, Consul General in Los Angeles, Ambassador to Cambodia, and currently Ambassador to the Netherlands.