Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told the UN General Assembly that Japan will continue its “consistent support” for the International Criminal Court, countering US President Donald Trump’s call for members to quit the court.
Takaichi said post‑war Japan has emphasized the rule of law in resolving all conflicts and that this commitment is reflected in its backing of multilateral organisations such as the ICC.
Her remarks arrive after domestic pressure on Tokyo to publicly defend the court, whose president Tomoko Akane is Japanese, following Trump’s August announcement that the United States would impose sanctions on the ICC as a whole.
In his own UN address, Trump described the ICC as an “out‑of‑control” institution and urged all member states to resign, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio called for the court’s dismantling “brick by brick,” calling it an “intolerable threat to US sovereignty.”
Takaichi avoided direct criticism of the US administration, noting that Japan needs to keep Washington’s cooperation amid rising Asia‑Pacific tensions, including a pledge to support democratic Taiwan and to address Chinese military activity in the South and East China Seas.
Japanese officials have expressed concern that Trump could use Taiwan as leverage in upcoming trade talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington later this week.
A cross‑party group of Japanese MPs earlier urged Takaichi to demand that Trump withdraw the sanctions, which were announced after the ICC issued a warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opened an investigation into alleged US war crimes in Afghanistan.
Takaichi said she and Trump had a “candid exchange” about the ICC on the sidelines of the assembly and reiterated that Japan’s stance on the court is “incompatible” with the sanctions.
ICC President Tomoko Akane, who took office in 2024, said the court would not be intimidated by sanctions, adding that “justice will and should prevail.”