Shunji Yanai
Shunji Yanai | |
|---|---|
柳井 俊二 | |
| Japanese Ambassador to the United States | |
| In office 1999–2001 | |
| Preceded by | Kunihiko Saitō |
| Succeeded by | Ryōzō Katō |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 15 January 1937 Tokyo, Japan |
| Alma mater | University of Tokyo |
Shunji Yanai (柳井 俊二, Yanai Shunji, born 15 January 1937) is a Japanese diplomat who served as ambassador to the United States from 1999 until 2001 and Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1997 to 1999.
After his diplomatic career, he served as a judge at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea from 2005 to 2023 and was its president from 2011 to 2014.
Biography
Yanai was born on 15 January 1937 in Tokyo. His father was Hisao Yanai, a diplomat who served as envoy to Colombia and chief of the Treaty Bureau in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.[1][2] Yanai was educated at Gakushūin went on to study law at the University of Tokyo. He graduated in 1961 and entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. After joining the ministry, he studied at the University of Strasbourg in France.[3]
He was director of the Treaties Bureau during 1991.[4] He served as Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1997 until 1999.[5] He then became ambassador to the United States, and served in the position until 2001.[5] He was removed from his post due to a scandal involving bureaucrats in the Foreign Ministry.[6]
In 2005, he became a judge in the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS).[5] On 1 October 2011, he was elected to succeed José Luís Jesus as President of the ITLOS for a three-year term.[5]
As part of its strategy of not recognizing the Philippines v. China case, China accused him of manipulating the tribunal's composition.[7]
He headed an advisory panel on Japanese self-defence during both of Shinzō Abe's terms as prime minister.[8] The panel consisted of thirteen security experts,[9] and was concerned with amendments to Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution.[10]
He retired from ITLOS after serving two nine-year terms in September 2023.[11]
References
- ^ ITLOS profile (access: 7 September 2022).
- ^ "［時代の証言者］外交の力 信じて 柳井俊二＜２＞敗戦予感した５歳児". Yomiuri Shimbun. 28 February 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
- ^ Gong, Gerrit W. (2001). Memory and History in East and Southeast Asia: Issues of Identity in International Relations. Center for Strategic and International Studies. p. 191. ISBN 978-0-89206-399-4. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
- ^ "Former Japanese leader urges his country to reverse claim on forced labor". Korea Herald. Yonhap News Agency. 29 August 2019. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
- ^ a b c d "Veteran Japanese diplomat elected as head of UN-backed sea court". UN News. 3 October 2011. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
- ^ "Tanaka gives in to Koizumi; U.S. envoy to be removed". The Japan Times. 3 August 2001. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
- ^ Cai, Congyan (2019). The Rise of China and International Law: Taking Chinese Exceptionalism Seriously. Oxford University Press. p. 313. ISBN 978-0-19-007360-2. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
- ^ Mie, Ayako (7 February 2013). "Abe presses ahead on collective self-defense". The Japan Times. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
- ^ Aoki, Mizuho (19 August 2013). "Clearing way for wider military role". The Japan Times. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
- ^ Boyle, Christina (15 May 2014). "Shinzo Abe Eyes End to Pacifist Japan's Ban on Overseas Combat". NBC News. Reuters. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
- ^ "Annual report of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea for 2023" (PDF). International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. United Nations. March 2024. Retrieved 6 September 2025.