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Over two days from Thursday, November 27, to Friday, November 28, the ICC Asia-Pacific Academic Forum was held at Keio University's Mita Campus. This forum was an initiative to bring together the International Criminal Court (ICC) and ten universities in the region that have entered a partnership through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). It represented an important step toward strengthening regional cooperation in international criminal justice.

Keio University and the ICC have maintained academic ties since 2004, primarily at the Faculty of Law, Graduate School of Law, and the Keio University Law School. This longstanding relationship culminated in the signing of an MoU between both parties in June 2024. Japan's relationship with the ICC is unbalanced; while Japan is its largest financial contributor, the ICC employs very few Japanese staff and interns.This MoU was undertaken with the expectation that, by providing internship opportunities to talented individuals from Japanese universities, and particularly Keio, this unbalanced relationship could be resolved in the future, as more Japanese are granted the opportunity to participate in international criminal justice and international organizations.

At the forum, universities in the Asia-Pacific region that are currently working with the ICC came together to meet in-person, promoting academic understanding of the ICC and discussing avenues for future academic cooperation in the region. During the opening session held on November 27, a video message from Judge Tomoko Akane, President of ICC kicked off the proceedings. After that, important figures took to the stage, including Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary H.E. Jean-Eric Paquet of the European Union (EU) to Japan, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary H.E. Gilles Beschoor Plug of the Netherlands to Japan, ICC director Christian Mahr of the Division of External Operations, Keio President Kohei Itoh, and Professor Philipp Osten from the Keio University Faculty of Law, where they discussed the current crises that the ICC faces, and the importance of this framework, which transcends national and regional borders to play a role in international justice. Then, Keio president Itoh referenced President Akane's lecture that was held last year for Keio students, emphasizing the importance of academia's pursuit of truth and Keio's support for the ICC.

It is hoped that this open academic exchange will facilitate future dialogue on the mission of the ICC and strengthen regional involvement in the development of international criminal justice.