Trump opened a front against The Hague — and now relations with Japan are paying the price
The Trump administration has expanded sanctions against the International Criminal Court and blacklisted President Tomoko Akane, who helped issue warrants against Netanyahu and Putin. In Japan, they warn of damage to international law and relations with the US.
When the Trump administration escalated its fight against the International Criminal Court in The Hague (ICC) last year and imposed sanctions on several judges, the court's president, Japanese judge Tomoko Akane, was shocked. However, according to a report in the New York Times, the situation worsened significantly this week. The US administration announced a new round of sanctions that includes Akane herself — a central figure who helped issue arrest warrants against Russian President Vladimir Putin, and against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the move and accused the court of being "corrupt and deeply political." Washington's decision puts Japan, one of the court's biggest supporters, in an especially embarrassing position. Behind the scenes, officials in Tokyo have been working feverishly over the past year in an attempt to convince their counterparts in the US to refrain from putting the judge on the blacklist. According to the New York Times, Japanese officials warned that harming the judge would damage the integrity of the international legal system, harm relations between the countries, and lead to national embarrassment.
Akane is highly regarded in her homeland, and her appointment as head of the world's highest criminal institution is considered a source of pride in Japan, which contributes about one-sixth of the court's annual budget of 230 million dollars. The 70-year-old Akane began her career in 1982 as one of only two women out of 50 government prosecutors appointed in Japan that year. Although she had to deal with gender discrimination in the system, she advanced rapidly until she joined the ICC in 2018. Her involvement in sensitive cases had already made her a target for retaliation in the past: last December, in response to the arrest warrant against Putin, Russia convicted her in absentia for "illegal persecution."
Hoping not to anger Washington, the Japanese government refrained last year from signing a declaration of support for the court on behalf of 79 countries. However, the reconciliation efforts were of no avail in the face of Trump's promise to dismantle the institution. Now, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who tried to cultivate close relations with President Trump, is facing sharp internal criticism. Takaichi called the situation "very regrettable" this week — a rare expression of displeasure toward her main security ally. The sanctions, which include freezing assets and a ban on entry to the US, are causing deep concern in Japan not only for the future of international law, but also for the stability of the alliance with the US in light of Trump's policies.
