Japan is weighing financial assistance for the International Criminal Court (ICC) amid U.S. sanctions against the court and its officials, which its president says threaten judicial independence, Anadolu Agency reported.
The Japanese government said Wednesday it was considering support, Anadolu Agency reported. At a news conference, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said Tokyo was weighing financial options and maintaining contact with ICC President Tomoko Akane and other countries; the agency cited a video of the briefing. Kihara also reiterated Japan’s support for the court and international law.
Akane used her Monday annual report to the U.N. General Assembly to warn that sanctions put the court’s independence at risk. She asked member states to protect the ICC’s work, Anadolu Agency reported.
The Trump administration added the ICC itself to its sanctions on Oct. 9, Anadolu Agency reported, after earlier restrictions targeted judges and prosecutors, including Akane. The agency also reported U.S. opposition to ICC investigations involving the United States and a pledge to dismantle the court.
Anadolu Agency reported that Akane is a Japanese national.
The ICC is based in The Hague and handles cases involving genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity when domestic courts cannot prosecute or choose not to do so. The United States is not a member of the court.
The European Commission is assessing whether the EU’s blocking statute can help shield financial and other services to the ICC from U.S. sanctions. Under the law, EU operators receive protection from some foreign laws; applying it could help businesses continue serving the court, as EconoTimes reported in its earlier coverage of the proposal.
