Japan raises concern over US campaign to dismantle International Criminal Court

Japan on Tuesday raised “concern” regarding the US campaign to dismantle the International Criminal Court (ICC) over what the Trump administration described as a threat by the top court to US sovereignty.

Tokyo is “watching closely with concern” the US campaign, government spokesman Minoru Kihara told a news conference, Kyodo News reported.

Japan, a treaty ally of the US, is the largest financial contributor to the ICC and the Trump administration’s threats include possible new sanctions, visa restrictions, and diplomatic pressure on allies.

The Hague-based court is currently under the presidency of Tomoko Akane, the first Japanese chair since 2024.

Kihara said Tokyo “will address the issue by consulting closely with the ICC and its other members, as well as Washington,” the report added.

The statement from Tokyo came after the US State Department Monday said the campaign would employ a “whole-of-government response to systematically disable the ICC’s ability to operate, target American servicemen or officials, or otherwise threaten American sovereignty.”

In an opinion piece published Monday in The Wall Street Journal, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the administration would “dismantle the ICC—brick by brick, if necessary.”

Notably, the ICC has issued arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, over genocide in the Palestinian besieged enclave of Gaza.