Tomoko Akane (1956–) is a Japanese jurist and President of the International Criminal Court (ICC). After graduating from the University of Tokyo, she became a public prosecutor in 1982 and held senior positions including Chief Prosecutor of the Hakodate District Public Prosecutors Office, prosecutor at the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office, and director of the United Nations Asia and Far East Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders. She joined the ICC as a judge in 2018 and became its first Japanese president in 2024. In “Senso Hanzai to Tatakau: Kokusai Keiji Saibansho wa Kusshinai” (Fighting War Crimes: The International Criminal Court Will Not Yield), she explains the court’s role in prosecuting genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, as well as the political pressures confronting international criminal justice.
