Japan has spent years casting the International Criminal Court as a pillar of the rules-based order. This week, its closest ally sanctioned the Japanese judge who leads it.
The move has left Tokyo in an uncomfortable bind: defend Tomoko Akane, the Japanese president of The Hague-based court, and risk antagonising US leader Donald Trump, or temper its criticism and appear weak in the face of an attack on an institution central to Japan’s rule-of-law diplomacy.
Washington’s sanctions, announced on Tuesday, drew condemnation from the European Union, several European governments and human rights groups, while a spokesman for United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he was “seriously concerned”.
The Japanese government was more circumspect. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Wednesday described the sanctions as “deeply regrettable” and vowed to “continue to communicate closely with the United States and other countries involved”.
A Foreign Ministry statement issued the same day said, “Japan has consistently supported the ICC, which is a permanent international criminal court, in its efforts to prosecute and punish the most serious crimes of concern to the international community and to uphold the rule of law. From this standpoint, the announced measures are very unfortunate.”
Japan “will remain committed to strengthening the rule of law in the international community”, the statement added.