On October 9, Human Rights Watch with Tokyo-based Human Rights Now and Peace Boat held an event at the Japanese Diet to press the Japanese government to step up its efforts to defend the International Criminal Court(ICC). The ICC, a court of last resort for victims of serious crimes around the world, has been under extreme pressure from the United States.
In February, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order authorizing sanctions targeting the ICC and its supporters, aimed at shielding Israeli and US officials from the court’s scrutiny. ICC judges in November 2024 had issued arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as a now-deceased Hamas official.
US sanctions have serious effects that could severely undermine victims’ access to justice. The Trump administration has imposed sanctions against the ICC prosecutor, his two deputies, six ICC judges, a United Nations human rights expert, and three leading Palestinian human rights groups. There is concern that the US will sanction the entire ICC.
At the event, which was endorsed by three bipartisan caucuses, Nonpartisan Association for Humanitarian Diplomacy, Parliamentary Association for Supporting Democratization of Myanmar, and Nonpartisan Parliamentary Association for Reconsidering Human Rights Diplomacy, nearly 20 Diet members urged the Japanese government to take stronger measures to protect the ICC.
“Japan’s international credibility relies on our actions,” said Masahiko Shibayama, a former education minister.
Japan has been a strong supporter of the ICC since its inception in 2002. It has nominated three of the court’s judges, past and present, and the current president, Judge Tomoko Akane.
Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya has raised concerns about the sanctions with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio but Japan has yet to speak publicly on this issue. Japanese groups criticized the government for declining to join cross-regional statements backing the court. “[I]t begs the question of what Japan is really doing,” said Diet member Yasue Funayama.
As the ICC faces a grave threat, Japan’s government should use every opportunity to publicly express its support for the court, condemn the US sanctions, and call on President Trump to revoke the executive order. It should help provide the ICC with the resources it needs, protect court officials by ratifying the 2002 Agreement on the Privileges and Immunities of the ICC, and act to mitigate the effects of US sanctions. Japan should stand up for justice.
