Saiga entered the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs 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. In 2000, Saiga became the Consul General at the Japanese Consulate in
Seattle. She also worked as the ambassador to
Norway and
Iceland. Saiga's work mainly related to human rights. In 2001, she joined the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. She also advocated for
Japanese citizens who were kidnapped by North Korea. 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. she obtained 2/3 of the votes necessary to be elected to the position. the nomination process was changed, and an independent panel reviews all nominations before the election. She was awarded the
Order of the Sacred Treasure. == References ==