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![\"Japan](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1787929173_493_japan-2-earth-masthead-v2.jpg\")
<\/a>\nWhat do you expect from Japan?\u00a0<\/p>\n
The sanctions are wrong. Trying to disable the ICC from the outside is an attack on judicial independence, and Japan needs to say so clearly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Japan has upheld the rule of law and pledged support for the ICC. It’s precisely because Japan has championed the rule of law that it has earned the respect it holds in the international community. If Japan works with the EU and the UK, which share these values, it won’t be facing the United States alone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Japan has worked to expand ICC membership across Asia. Other countries may now follow the US lead and move to withdraw from the court. To prevent that, Japan can show its willingness to cooperate with Asian countries\u2014which would also help build trust in Japan.<\/p>\n
Japan has historically followed US sanctions on counterterrorism and drug trafficking, but this ICC sanction is an entirely different matter.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Japan’s response so far, without directly criticizing the sanctions, likely reflected a desire to avoid escalating the US actions. But at this rate, the United States will eventually impose sanctions on the ICC as a whole. If that happens, it will mark the beginning of the collapse of the rule of law.<\/p>\n
How has the ICC held up operationally?\u00a0<\/p>\n
ICC judges are communicating directly on essential matters and remain able to continue fair trials.<\/p>\n
The scope of US sanctions may expand further, but there has been no major disruption among judges or staff. Having moved our electronic systems and secured banking relationships, our resilience has increased considerably.<\/p>\n
In Japan, a signature campaign calling for the sanctions to be withdrawn and for the Japanese government to act has gathered 60,000 supporters so far.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Honestly, there are times when I lose my appetite and can’t sleep, but the support I have received from Japan has become a driving force behind my determination to keep going. I was nominated by the Japanese government to serve as an ICC judge. I hope Japan will lend its strength to help keep the ICC standing.<\/p>\n
Trump’s Pressure on ICC Forces Japan to Tread a Fine Line<\/a><\/p>\n (Read the article in Japanese<\/a>.)<\/p>\n
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