Japan PM pledges support for international criminal court after Trump calls it ‘out of control’
Sanae Takaichi has been under domestic pressure to publicly support the ICC, after the US sanctioned the court and its Japanese president
Justin McCurry in Tokyo
Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, has voiced her country’s “consistent support” for the international criminal court (ICC), after Donald Trump urged member states to abandon the body, calling it “out of control”.
In her speech to the UN general assembly in New York on Tuesday, Takaichi said postwar Japan had “emphasised the rule of law in the resolution of all conflicts” – a commitment she said was reflected in its support for multilateral organisations such as the ICC.
Japan’s leader had faced pressure at home to publicly support the ICC, whose president, Tomoko Akane, is Japanese, after failing to come to its defence in response to Trump’s announcement in August that the US would impose sanctions targeting the entire organisation.
On Tuesday, Trump intensified his criticism of the ICC in his speech to the general assembly. “The United States is equally opposed to the out-of-control institution known as the international criminal court,” he said.
“I call on all nations that are members of the ICC to officially resign from this rogue institution immediately.”
The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has called for the ICC to be dismantled “brick by brick”, describing it as an “intolerable threat to US sovereignty”.
Takaichi avoided direct criticism of the US administration in her UN speech as she seeks to keep Washington on side amid rising tensions in the Asia-Pacific, including a commitment to support democratic Taiwan and address Chinese military activity in the South and East China Seas.
Officials in Tokyo are reportedly concerned that Trump could use Taiwan as leverage when he discusses trade with the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, in Washington on Thursday.
Washington is legally obliged to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself. Beijing regards the self-governing island as a province and has vowed to “annex” it, including by force if it can’t convince or coerce Taiwan into accepting what it calls “reunification”.
Takaichi’s most recent comments on the ICC come after a cross-party group of MPs in Japan urged her to demand that Trump withdraw the sanctions, announced in response to its decision to issue a warrant for the arrest of the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and an ongoing investigation into alleged war crimes by American troops in Afghanistan.
One of the Japanese lawmakers, former defence minister Gen Nakatani, said the UN general assembly was “a place where a country should make its case to the world”, adding: “We want Japan to protect the ICC through the [prime minister’s] address and contacts with other countries.”
Takaichi said on Tuesday that she and Trump had a “candid exchange” about the ICC during discussions on the sidelines of the general assembly.
In the past, Takaichi had drawn criticism for her lukewarm defence of the ICC, having initially described US sanctions as “very unfortunate”. She later said the measures were “incompatible” with Japan’s stance on the work of the court.
Akane, who has led the ICC since 2024, said she would not be intimidated by the threat of sanctions. Speaking soon after the measures were announced in August, she told reporters: “The ICC will never be defeated. Justice will and should prevail, and we will stay true to that belief.”
