Japan has criticised the United States’ decision to impose sanctions on the President of the International Criminal Court, Judge Tomoko Akane, describing the move as “very unfortunate” and reaffirming its support for the Hague-based tribunal.
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Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a statement on Wednesday, said Tokyo remained committed to the ICC and its role in prosecuting the gravest international crimes and strengthening the rule of law.
“Japan has consistently supported the ICC in its efforts to prosecute and punish the most serious crimes of concern to the international community and to uphold the rule of law,” the ministry said.
It added that Japan would continue working to strengthen the rule of law in the international community while maintaining dialogue with countries concerned.
The reaction followed sanctions announced by the United States on Tuesday against Akane, a Japanese judge who heads the ICC, and Abdoulaye Seye, a Senegalese national and senior trial lawyer at the court.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the sanctions were imposed under an executive order signed by President Donald Trump authorising punitive measures against ICC officials.
“These individuals have directly engaged in efforts by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute officials whose government has not consented to ICC jurisdiction,” Rubio said.
The measures mark another escalation in the Trump administration’s campaign against the ICC, which was established in 2002 to prosecute individuals accused of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The United States is not a member of the court and has repeatedly opposed the ICC exercising jurisdiction over American nationals and officials of other non-member states.
The ICC also condemned the latest sanctions, warning that targeting judges and prosecutors for carrying out their judicial responsibilities threatened the international legal system.
“When judicial actors are threatened for applying the law, it is the international legal order itself that is placed at risk,” the court said.
Seye is a senior trial lawyer on the prosecution team that sought an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and has also been nominated for election as an ICC judge.
The latest US action has also drawn criticism from European allies.
The Netherlands, which hosts the ICC in The Hague, expressed opposition to the sanctions.
Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen said he had invited Akane for discussions on the Netherlands’ continued support for the court.
“International courts and tribunals must be able to freely carry out their mandates,” he said.
Akane had previously warned in December that US sanctions could “rapidly undermine the court’s operations in all situations and cases, and jeopardize its very existence.”
Washington had earlier imposed targeted sanctions on several ICC officials, including prosecutors and judges, citing the court’s arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as an earlier ICC investigation involving US troops in Afghanistan.
The sanctions freeze any US-based assets belonging to the affected individuals and effectively restrict their access to the American financial system, which is closely connected to major international financial institutions.
The US Treasury Department on Tuesday also issued a general licence allowing transactions involving Akane and Seye to be wound down until September 17.
The legal battle over the sanctions has also moved into US courts.
Three ICC judges sued Trump and members of his administration in June, arguing that sanctions imposed against them were unlawful.
Separate lawsuits filed by advocacy organisations have also alleged that Washington’s campaign against the court interferes with the constitutional rights of groups working with the ICC to seek accountability for atrocities around the world.
Rubio said last month that the Trump administration intended to intensify pressure on the ICC, including through a diplomatic campaign aimed at persuading countries to withdraw from the institution.
According to Rubio, the administration believes the court could pose a threat to US personnel involved in immigration enforcement, military operations and strikes against vessels accused of drug trafficking, as well as other American service members.
Trump has maintained that his administration’s campaign is principally aimed at protecting Netanyahu and others from prosecution, rather than shielding himself.
Although the United States has never joined the ICC, the court maintains that it may exercise jurisdiction over crimes committed on the territory of a member state even where the alleged offender is a national of a country that is not a party to the Rome Statute.
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