was a Japanese diplomat and was the first Japanese person and Asian woman to serve as a judge on the

International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...

. Her work focused on human rights and gender equality. As a politician, she was the Lieutenant Governor of

Saitama Prefecture is a Landlocked country, landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (January 1, 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 Square kilometre, km2 ( ...

from 1998-2000.

Early life and education

Saiga was born in

Marugame, Kagawa is a cities of Japan, city located in Kagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 108,541 in 46101 households and a population density of 970 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Marugame is loc ...

, Japan on November 30, 1943. She graduated with a bachelor's degree from the

Tokyo University of Foreign Studies , often referred to as TUFS, is a specialist National university, national research university in Fuchū, Tokyo, Fuchū, Tokyo, Japan. TUFS is primarily devoted to foreign language, international relations, international affairs and area studies. ...

in 1966.

Career

Saiga entered the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

immediately after graduation. Much of her early career was in Japan, culminating in 1998 when she was elected to serve as the Lieutenant Governor of

Saitama prefecture is a Landlocked country, landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (January 1, 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 Square kilometre, km2 ( ...

. In 2000, Saiga became the Consul General at the Japanese Consulate in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

. She also worked as the ambassador to

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

and

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

. Saiga's work mainly related to human rights. In 2001, she joined the

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is an international treaty adopted in 1979 by the United Nations General Assembly. Described as an international bill of rights for women, it was instituted ...

. She also advocated for Japanese citizens who were kidnapped by North Korea. Saiga was elected to the International Criminal Court in November 2007 and was sworn in in January 2008. She was the first Asian woman to be elected to the court, and the first person from Japan. During her tenure on the court she oversaw the investigation of war crimes in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Though she did not have formal legal training and a limited knowledge of international law, she obtained 2/3 of the votes necessary to be elected to the position. After her sudden death in

the Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

on April 24, 2009, the nomination process was changed, and an independent panel reviews all nominations before the election. She was awarded the

Order of the Sacred Treasure The is a Japanese Order (distinction), order, established on 4 January 1888 by Emperor Meiji as the Order of Meiji. Originally awarded in eight classes (from 8th to 1st, in ascending order of importance), since 2003 it has been awarded in six c ...

References

2009 deaths 1943 births People from Marugame, Kagawa Tokyo University of Foreign Studies alumni International Criminal Court judges Ambassadors of Japan to Norway Ambassadors of Japan to Iceland Permanent representatives of Japan to the United Nations Japanese women ambassadors {{DEFAULTSORT:Saiga, Fumiko