ICC considers regional offices, with Japan a strong candidate for Asia; Court is looking for more cooperation, more members

BRUSSELS – The International Criminal Court, based in The Hague in the Netherlands, is considering setting up regional offices in four locations worldwide, with Japan a strong candidate for the Asian branch, diplomatic sources told The Yomiuri Shimbun.

The ICC will present an overview of its plan for the offices to its member states at the end of this month.

The court aims to open the offices in 2026, after approving the plan at a general meeting scheduled for the end of the year. The regional offices are intended not only to deepen cooperation with the 124 States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, but also to improve third countries’ understanding of the activities of the International Criminal Court and to engage them encourage you to join.

Asia, Africa, South America and Eastern Europe are the four regions for which candidate locations for regional offices are being considered.

Due to Russian aggression against Ukraine, the ICC set up a special office in September last year to collect evidence of war crimes in Ukraine. But the court so far has no offices aimed at improving cooperation with its member states.

Discussions about opening regional offices have accelerated since late last year, fueled by greater awareness of the importance of the rule of law in response to Russian aggression in Ukraine, an act that disregards international law.

Cooperation among the ICC’s member states is essential for the court to execute arrest warrants and gather evidence so it can charge individuals involved in genocide and war crimes. However, some members do not cooperate with ICC investigations due to their friendly ties with other countries.

According to the ICC, approximately one-third of UN member states, including the United States, China and Russia, are not parties to the ICC. Of the 55 UN members in Asia, only 19 are members of the ICC. Non-members are apparently concerned that their military staff could be charged with war crimes.

For the ICC’s regional office in Asia, both Japan and South Korea are considered locations. Japan is the largest financial contributor to the court, and ICC judge Tomoko Akane was also elected president of the court earlier this month. These factors could contribute to the Asian regional office moving to Japan.