ICC president seeks Japan’s aid to counter Trump push for Asian members’ exit

OSAKA – International Criminal Court President Tomoko Akane has asked Japan for cooperation to counter pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration for ICC member countries to withdraw from the court based in The Hague, the Netherlands.

“Japan is one of the very strong member countries,” Akane told reporters after delivering an address in the city of Osaka on Monday, adding that the ICC wants Japan to ask other Asian member nations not to leave it.

Venezuela has announced its withdrawal from the ICC, and some other countries have been strongly pressured to leave the court, she said in the address.

It remains to be seen if a large number of countries will leave the ICC, Akane said after the address, adding that “it is indeed a crisis, but we’re not defeated.” She also said that the ICC is getting more and more support from member nations to help it continue operating normally.

The United States has also suggested its intention to strengthen sanctions on individuals related to the court—a move that may cause problems to ICC operations, including to salary payments for staff workers.

According to Akane, the ICC has taken measures to prevent the U.S. sanctions from impacting its business, such as using the accident insurance of the United Nations. “We are making maximum efforts to help people subject to the sanctions avoid inconvenience.”

The Trump administration has criticized the ICC for carrying out war crime investigations targeting U.S. troops and issuing an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

On July 13, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio showed Washington’s intention to urge ICC member countries to leave it, claiming that the sovereignty of the United States, which is not an ICC member, has been threatened by the organization.