UNITED NATIONS, June 22 (Xinhua) -- Jurist Yuji Iwasawa of Japan was elected judge of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Friday to succeed retired judge Hisashi Owada.

Iwasawa won all 15 votes at the Security Council and 184 out of 189 votes at the General Assembly. Five member states did not turn out to vote at the General Assembly.

Under the Statute of the International Court of Justice, the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, a candidate has to obtain absolute majority in both chambers to get elected. Voting in the two chambers must be held concurrently but separately.

Iwasawa's term of office starts immediately on Friday and ends on Feb. 5, 2021.

The retirement of Owada, who is also a Japanese and served as an ICJ judge since 2002, was effective on June 7, 2018.