In brief
ICC president Tomoko Akane held a meeting with a cross‑party delegation of Japanese lawmakers in The Hague on Friday, urging Japan and other members to sustain support for the tribunal in the face of U.S. sanctions. Akane, the first Japanese national to head the ICC, highlighted Japan’s role as the largest financial contributor and asked the delegation to press Washington to lift the sanctions. Japanese officials echoed the call, noting Japan’s willingness to deepen financial aid to the court.
On Friday at the ICC headquarters in The Hague, President Tomoko Akane met a cross‑party delegation of Japanese lawmakers, calling for continued backing of the tribunal amid U.S. sanctions targeting her. Akane, the first Japanese national to lead the court, emphasized Japan’s status as its biggest financial contributor and urged the delegation to press Washington to lift the sanctions.
Immediately after the meeting, Yasue Funayama, co‑head of the parliamentarians’ group, told reporters that Akane had noted Japan should "take the lead" in removing the sanctions and that the delegation wanted Japan to communicate this to the United States.
"I felt anew that Japan should take the lead in taking action toward the removal of the sanctions with a strong determination that our country should say what must be said to the United States because we are allies," Funayama said.
Japan’s top government spokesman, Minoru Kihara, said the country was considering what additional financial assistance it could provide to the ICC. He noted Japan’s advocacy for the rule of law even as the court faced a crisis.
Former Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, who attended the delegation, echoed the call for cross‑party unity, adding that Japan would "join forces across party lines" to support the ICC.
