TOKYO, Japan — Japan should try to counter US efforts to pressure members of the International Criminal Court to quit the body, the Japanese president of the court said on Wednesday, adding that she wouldn’t back down under the pressure of Washington’s sanctions.
The Trump administration ratcheted up its campaign against the Hague-based court last week by sanctioning its president, Tomoko Akane, and a senior trial lawyer. Washington has said it will also step up efforts to persuade other countries to quit the institution, a call that at least five countries have already heeded.
The ICC was established in 2002 by the international community to prosecute war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity.
The US is not a member, but it has slammed the court’s decision to seek an arrest warrant for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a close US ally, and his former defense minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes in Gaza. It also opposes a past probe into US troops in Afghanistan.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who has gotten US President Donald Trump’s praise, initially described the effort from its US ally as “very unfortunate.” But she has faced criticism from the opposition, human rights groups and some lawmakers from her own party for not defending the court more forcibly.
