VOX POPULI: ICC chief Akane refuses to waver despite pressure and threats
'The southern route is dangerous, so please return via the northern route.'
Two years ago, while Tomoko Akane, a judge of the International Criminal Court (ICC), was temporarily back in Japan, she received this call from ICC headquarters in The Hague, the Netherlands.
The caller was essentially instructing her to take a flight path that skirted the U.S. state of Alaska, crossed the Arctic Ocean and Greenland, and then continued to Europe—instead of flying over China and Central Asia before entering European airspace.
This was shortly after the Russian government had issued an arrest warrant for Akane and several other ICC officials.
Four months earlier, the ICC had issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and another senior Russian official, charging them with the war crime of unlawfully deporting and transferring Ukrainian children from occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia.
Russia's move was clearly an act of retaliation for the ICC's action.
ICC officials feared that if Akane's flight back to the Netherlands passed over former Soviet republics, Moscow might pressure those governments to force the plane to land and detain her.
Reading 'Senso Hanzai to Tatakau' (Fighting war crimes), the book in which Akane—now the ICC president—recounts her experiences, I was struck by her unshakable convictions in the face of immense pressure.
In the book, she explains that to adjudicate war crimes, ICC judges have 'no choice' but to base their decisions strictly on evidence and the law.
She also emphasizes that, regardless of political considerations or potential backlash, judges issue arrest warrants when they believe it is the right and necessary course of action under international law.
Akane had once worked as a public prosecutor in Japan, but she originally aspired to study science and dreamed of becoming a researcher.
She admits that she was never comfortable speaking in public and now sometimes thinks, 'I've ended up in a field I'm terribly unsuited for.'
Deeply concerned by U.S. President Donald Trump's political approach, which increasingly promotes the 'rule of power,' she has become an even more vocal advocate for the 'rule of law.'
Overwhelmed by her sense of mission, I suddenly thought of Sadako Ogata (1927–2019).
A scholar by training who served as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, she was a person of deep conviction who consistently championed the cause of 'human security.'
She never wavered in her principles and demonstrated remarkable strength of character.
In The Hague, Akane now avoids going out, mindful that if anything were to happen, it could cause serious difficulties for those around her.
How can we, in turn, respond to her hopes for peace?
—The Asahi Shimbun, July 4
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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.
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