Press Releases
Courtesy Call on Foreign Minister Kamikawa by President Akane of the International Criminal Court (ICC)
June 10, 2024
On June 10, commencing at 5:00 p.m. for approximately 20 minutes, Ms. KAMIKAWA Yoko, Minister for Foreign Affairs, received a courtesy call from H.E. Judge AKANE Tomoko, President of the International Criminal Court (ICC), during her visit to Japan. The overview of the courtesy call is as follows.
- Minister Kamikawa conveyed her congratulations to President Akane on her appointment as the first Japanese President of the ICC, and wished her success.
- As a follow-up to the talks held during Minister Kamikawa’s visit to the ICC in January of this year, the two sides deepened the discussion on collaboration and cooperation between Japan and the ICC in a concrete manner. They concurred on continuing strengthen collaboration and cooperation to promote the rule of law in the international community in the following areas such as increasing the number of States Parties to the Rome Statute and fostering human resource:
- Minister Kamikawa introduced Japan’s recent efforts to increase the number of States Parties to the Rome Statute. The two sides reaffirmed that they will continue to jointly explore ways to promote the ICC, recognizing that the increase of the number of States Parties, including those in the Asia-Pacific region, is essential for the ICC to become a truly universal court.
- Minister Kamikawa introduced recent efforts regarding the increase in the number of Japanese personnel in the ICC by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including the ICC job seminar held in New York in May for Japanese staff of the United Nations and other international organizations, and stated that the Ministry would further devise efforts to send Japanese staff, including active promotion activities.
President Akane extended her appreciation for Japan’s recent approach under the initiative of Minister Kamikawa. The President went on to express her eagerness to step up cooperation with relevant Japanese institutions so that more Japanese legal professionals and students will apply for the positions at the ICC.
- In closing, Minister Kamikawa stated that, in general terms, in order for Japan to work more closely with the ICC in the future, it is important that, under the rule of law, the ICC continues to make utmost efforts to conduct neutral, fair and impartial proceedings based on the Rome Statute and other relevant rules, and that the ICC’s independence as a criminal court be respected to the maximum extent possible. The two sides share the view on this point.