ICC chief urges Japan to counter US pressure on the court

What the report says

International Criminal Court President Tomoko Akane urged Japan to use its diplomatic influence to resist U.S. pressure on the court and to encourage other ICC members not to leave, according to Al Jazeera’s report based on Reuters. Akane, speaking by video link to reporters in Tokyo, said Japan’s support was especially important because the country is the ICC’s largest financial contributor and a long-time advocate of the rule of law.

The appeal comes after Washington intensified its campaign against the Hague-based tribunal last week by sanctioning Akane and a senior trial lawyer. The report says the Trump administration has also signaled it will try to persuade more countries to withdraw from the court, after several states have already done so. Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, called the latest U.S. move “very unfortunate,” but has been criticized at home by opposition figures, rights groups and some members of her own party for not defending the ICC more strongly.

Founded in 2002, the ICC prosecutes war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. Al Jazeera notes that the United States is not a member, and that tensions have grown because of the court’s pursuit of an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a past investigation into alleged abuses by U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Akane said Japan should use its close ties with Washington to help prevent further escalation.