Tokyo: The Japanese government plans to hold a meeting of justice ministers from the Group of Seven major democracies in Japan in July next year, informed sources told Jiji Press on Thursday.

In response to the Russian war in Ukraine, Japan aims to affirm the importance of international order based on the rule of law, hoping to strengthen G-7 cooperation on legal and judicial affairs, including in the Indo-Pacific region.

The justice ministers’ meeting will be held as a special gathering separately from 14 G-7 ministerial meetings that the government has decided to hold next year, when Japan holds the G-7 presidency, the sources said.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the G-7 countries held the first meeting of their justice ministers in 13 years under Germany’s presidency this year.

The meeting, held in Berlin in November, was joined by the Ukrainian justice minister and prosecutors of the International Criminal Court. While condemning Russian aggression, it adopted the Berlin Declaration, which calls for each G-7 country to set up an office for war crime investigation.

According to sources familiar with the Berlin meeting, participants voiced expectations that Japan will exercise its leadership in ensuring the rule of law in Asia.

In light of this, the Japanese government has been working with relevant countries to hold a meeting of G-7 justice ministers on the sidelines of a special gathering of justice ministers from Japan and members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations that is set to be held in Japan on July 6-7 next year, the sources said.

On top of the crisis in Ukraine, the planned G-7 justice ministers’ meeting is expected to cover cooperation between G-7 countries and ASEAN members to promote the rule of law in the Indo-Pacific region.

Japan is also considering holding a ministerial meeting between the G-7 and ASEAN, hoping to serve as a bridge between the two sides as the only Asian member of the G-7, the sources said.

JIJI Press