Japanese Judge Iwasawa Elected as ICJ President; Becomes 2nd Japanese to Hold Post

By Keigo Sakai / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent

13:58 JST, March 4, 2025

LONDON — The International Court of Justice said that Japanese judge Yuji Iwasawa has been elected the new president of the court, a U.N. permanent organ with a role to settle disputes among nations based on international law.

According to the release by The Hague-based ICJ on Monday, Iwasawa’s predecessor, Nawaf Salam, resigned in January to become prime minister of Lebanon.

As Salam’s term as ICJ head had been due to expire in 2027, Iwasawa will fill the vacancy for the remainder of that term.

Iwasawa, 70, is the second Japanese to assume the ICJ presidency after Hisashi Owada, who held the post from 2009 to 2012.

As an expert on international law, Iwasawa has conducted research focusing on the theoretical relationship between international and domestic laws mainly at the University of Tokyo, and his work has been published extensively. He has been a member of the court since 2018.