Tokyo Opposes US Sanctions on Japanese ICC Chief

The Japanese Government has opposed sanctions imposed by the United States on International Criminal Court (ICC) President Tomoko Akane, describing the move as “very unfortunate”.

Japan’s Foreign Ministry Press Secretary, Toshihiro Kitamura, made the position known in a statement on Wednesday.

The Donald Trump administration imposed sanctions on Akane, a Japanese national, and ICC Senior Trial Lawyer Abdoulaye Seye of Senegal on Tuesday.

The US said the sanctions were part of its campaign against what it described as a “corrupt and fatally politicised” institution.

Kitamura said Japan had consistently supported the ICC in its efforts to prosecute and punish the most serious crimes of concern to the international community and uphold the rule of law.

“From this standpoint, the announced measures are very unfortunate,” he said.

Japan is the largest financial contributor to the ICC and has maintained strong support for the court, while the United States is not a party to the Rome Statute that established the institution.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused Akane and Seye of engaging in efforts by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain or prosecute officials whose governments had not consented to the court’s jurisdiction.

The ICC rejected the sanctions, saying they undermined the rule of law.

The court said threats against judicial officials for applying international law put the wider international legal order at risk.

The latest US measures are largely linked to ICC investigations involving Israel, a close US ally. In 2024, the court issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over alleged war crimes related to the Gaza conflict.

Netanyahu welcomed the sanctions, describing the ICC as a “kangaroo court” and accusing it of abusing its authority.

The Netherlands, where the ICC is headquartered in The Hague, also criticised the latest sanctions, saying international courts must be allowed to carry out their mandates freely.

The United States has previously sanctioned other ICC officials and maintained that the court has exceeded its mandate and threatened American sovereignty.

The ICC, established in 2002, prosecutes individuals accused of the gravest international crimes when national legal systems are unwilling or unable to ensure accountability.