Latest news with #Uematsu
Asahi Shimbun
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Asahi Shimbun
Lawyers groups in Japan blast Trump sanctions against the ICC
Bar associations' statements in response to U.S. sanctions on the International Criminal Court (The Asahi Shimbun) Lawyers groups are pressing Japan to join other countries in demanding the United States rescind its sanctions imposed on the International Criminal Court over its actions concerning Israel's bombardment of the Gaza Strip. U.S. President Donald Trump signed the executive order for the sanctions on Feb. 6 concerning the ICC's arrest warrant issued in November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on suspicion of war crimes. Seventy-nine of the court's 125 member states immediately condemned the U.S. move in a joint statement. But Japan, an ICC member, did not sign the statement out of fear of worsening relations with the United States. The Aichi Bar Association was one of the first lawyers' groups in Japan that issued a statement criticizing Trump's executive order, which includes sanctions on the ICC's prosecutor. 'A politician is trying to distort the role of the judiciary by force,' said lawyer Kentaro Uematsu, a member of the association. 'Japan could suffer the same fate someday if we overlook political intervention with the judiciary (in the international community).' The ICC, based in The Hague, prosecutes and tries individuals accused of war crimes and other serious violations of international law. Tomoko Akane, a former prosecutor at the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office, has been serving a three-year term as ICC president since March 2024. Uematsu, who studied under Akane at Nagoya University's Graduate School of Law when she was a professor, heard his mentor speak at an alumni reunion in November. While the ICC was not originally something close to him, Uematsu said he learned that the importance of holding those engaged in illegal acts criminally accountable is the same in Japan and abroad. He raised his voice against the executive order with other students of Akane, including lawyer Yosuke Shamoto. 'The United States, which established the international order after World War II, is running counter to it,' said Shamoto, another member of the Aichi Bar Association. 'It is significant for Japan to work on the United States exactly because Japan prioritizes the rule of law.' The Aichi Bar Association and the Osaka Bar Association separately issued statements against Trump's executive order on March 7. 'The sanctions against the ICC could reject the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law altogether,' the Osaka Bar Association said in its statement. The Japan Federation of Bar Associations, as well as the Tokyo Bar Association and other groups, followed suit with their own statements. In his executive order, Trump said the ICC has engaged in 'illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel.' He said the court has 'no jurisdiction' over the United States or Israel because neither country is a member. Currently, the ICC prosecutor is the only individual designated as sanctioned, but some officials have left the court because the executive order said those who provide support to him could face penalties. Megumi Ochi, an associate professor of international criminal law at Ritsumeikan University, said international criminal justice has been established as grass-roots movements crossed national borders and developed into a large social activity. 'In that sense, the actions by bar associations are necessary to establish justice (in the international community),' she said. Ochi said victims of war crimes will suffer a serious setback if the ICC fails to work properly because they will become unable to seek the truth.
ABC News
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- ABC News
Final Fantasy XIV composer Masayashi Soken on making music that stops the world
Japanese video game composer Masayoshi Soken doesn't see his work as separate from the games he scores, it's all part of the full experience. The Final Fantasy XIV and Final Fantasy XVI composer was recently in London for live performances of his music. Music from video game series Final Fantasy, a long running role-playing franchise with more than 30 titles, is being toured globally as part of Distant Worlds: music from Final Fantasy an orchestral concert series. "When we are creating music for games, I do have to acknowledge that there isn't a lot of freedom to do whatever you want, it is not easy to make game music like this," says Soken "When I'm putting music into Final Fantasy XIV, I'm trying very hard to think about the game experience overall, I think that each sound that goes into it is incredibly important, but I'm not trying to think of each of the songs as separate to the game." Photo shows ABC Game Show promo image with stylised joy stick Discover a new world of music, as composer, multi-instrumentalist and performance poet Meena Shamaly brings you iconic soundtracks and orchestral scores from digital gaming. Unlike film and television composers who score music after the scenes are shot, composers for video games often work hand in hand with the game development team as the game is being made to make sure music and sound effects respond to gameplay. Music in video games is often dynamic responding to player actions and milestones within the story, with each player experiencing their own audio mix and sequence. Soken says it's a challenge but the response from players makes the process worth it. Drinking buddies with Nobuo Uematsu Soken's career spans nearly thirty years, originally starting at Konami, working as an editor and sound designer as well as composer and eventually becoming sound director. He has also worked closely with another composer whose name is still synonymous with the Final Fantasy series, Nobuo Uematsu. Uematsu composed soundtracks for the first 12 mainline Final Fantasy games, starting in 1987 with the original game for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Photo shows Japanese composer Nobuo Umeatsu sits playing viola in a lounge surrounded by cds and musical equipment This self-taught Japanese composer is behind some of the most beloved video game music The two musicians worked together on the original 2010 version of the multiplayer role-playing game Final Fantasy XIV and would drink together every day after work. "If I focus on my relationship with Uematsu, I think that when we moved the company [office] to a location that was quite far from Uematsu's house, he slowly started coming less into the company and eventually he left. For me that was a major part of my history when I look back." "We would go out drinking every day before we moved and that's not to say we didn't drink at all, but I did find that quite sad that we couldn't do that anymore, we didn't have that flow of literally going to drink every single day." Uematsu established the signature Final Fantasy sound which draws influences from classical music, along with rock and jazz, with composers like Soken building on that canon 'sound' of the games with their own compositions. The famous piece One Winged Angel from Final Fantasy VII for example draws equally from the music of Stravinsky and Jimmy Hendrix according to interviews with Uematsu. Loading YouTube content Each piece of music in Final Fantasy features a strong memorable melody, which works as well with the original basic 1980s and 1990s chiptune synthesisers of early video game consoles or arranged for a full orchestra. The main theme of the series, Prelude, originally composed by Uematsu and featured in nearly every game in the series has been recontextualised in Soken's Final Fantasy XVI piece, Land of Eikons, which moves the classic harp melody into a darker minor key. Composing with acting performance as a guide Soken, who only speaks Japanese, says his music was inspired heavily by acting performances of lead characters in the game, even though in some cases he couldn't understand what the performers were saying. "For [Final Fantasy] XVI quite early on in the process I knew that all of the voice actors would be key and I was able to receive inspiration from the acting performances of the voice actors while writing," says Soken. "I'm not very good at speaking English, so when I listen to the English voice acting, I can't really tell the details of the words but I can understand what is actually being portrayed through the performance. "That is proof for how extraordinary their performance was and so I wanted to make the best music that I can to contribute to that game experience that was already there." The concert series Distant Worlds: music from Final Fantasy was co-founded by game series composer Nobuo Uematsu and music director and conductor Arnie Roth. ( Supplied: AWR Music/ Square Enix ) Music that stops the world Soken plays rock versions of his Final Fantasy music live with band The Primals, and said that he was still touched by the energy that players around the world share after playing the games and listening to his performances. "We have Primals performances in big halls and when we play [Final Fantasy XIV musical piece] Rise, there's obviously that time-stop moment and you see tens of thousands of people stopping all together, that is brilliant to see." "I really am just touched by the energy that all of the [players] have and I'm very much moved by their extraordinary energy." Loading YouTube content "So I would say that what hasn't changed in all these years is that all of this is about the game experience, everyone is trying to feel the game." " I think that there are aspects of music and sound that are more important than others but what I like about it is that I'm just a gamer, that's how I feel. " Sign up to the ABC Classic Newsletter Your information is being handled in accordance with the Email address Subscribe
