Judge Tomoko Akane walks before delivering the verdict in the Al Hassan case at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, on Nov. 20, 2024. (Eva Plevier/Pool Photo via AP, file)
TOKYO (Kyodo) — The Japanese government on Monday said it intends to provide any necessary support to International Criminal Court President Tomoko Akane after she was sanctioned by the United States, amid claims its response to the issue has been weak.
The government has stopped short of outright criticism of U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration that announced sanctions on Akane, the first Japanese national to lead the ICC, accusing the Hague-based court of encroaching on state sovereignty.
Speaking at a regular press conference in Tokyo, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said the government has “maintained close communication” with Akane. “If there is any necessary support we can provide, we intend to make sure that we do so,” he said.
Statements by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and the Japanese Foreign Ministry on Wednesday describing the sanctions as “very unfortunate” have come under scrutiny from international rights organizations.
Amnesty International Secretary General Agnes Callamard said in a post on X that the response to the sanctions was “a rather weak reaction.”
Kanae Doi, Japan director at Human Rights Watch, said the government “should build on its longstanding support for the ICC by strongly condemning the Trump administration’s attacks on the court.”
Kihara said the government is “aware that there have been various viewpoints raised,” adding it would “refrain from commenting on each one individually.”
Japan, he said, “has consistently supported the ICC, which is a permanent international criminal court, in its efforts to punish and eradicate the most serious crimes of concern to the international community and to uphold the rule of law.”