A group of lawyers who were students of the ICC director submits 170,000 signatures to the Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary demanding revocation of sanctions.

On the 1st, a group of lawyers who are students of Tomoko Akane, director of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has been designated as a target of sanctions by the United States, submitted over 170,000 signatures to Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Masanao Ozaki calling for the government to take action toward the immediate lifting of the sanctions. At a press conference, representative attorney Kentaro Agematsu appealed, ``Japan, which has a relationship of trust with the United States, can play a role in protecting the independence of the ICC.''

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The submissions were made by lawyers who were students of Director Akane when he was a professor at Nagoya University Law School. According to lawyer Hironori Shamoto, who was present, Deputy Commissioner Ozaki replied, ``The Japanese government has clearly communicated to the US side its position of supporting the ICC.''

Signatures were collected online for about a month. Director Akane expressed his gratitude, saying, ``Each of us may be small, but we are by no means powerless.'' Attorney Agematsu was enthusiastic, saying, ``We want to do what we can in concrete ways.''