In mid-July, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio launched a sweeping campaign to dismantle the International Criminal Court. Unprecedented in scope and potential impact, the campaign aims to “systematically disable the ICC’s ability to operate.”

One of the latest targets is a Japanese national, Judge Tomoko Akane, president of the ICC, who was sanctioned by the U.S. government on Aug. 18. As this newspaper reported, Akane was sanctioned along with senior trial lawyer Abdoulaye Seye by the Trump administration, which called the ICC a “corrupt and fatally politicized supranational court that has maliciously abused its authority.”

Not only is the campaign a direct assault on the framework of international law, but it also poses a challenge for the Japan-U.S. relationship. At a time when relations are being constantly tested by economic and trade tensions and security pressures, the campaign by the U.S. against the ICC could lead to another frontier emerging.

Despite reticence to confront destabilizing U.S. behavior, there are risks to Japan’s interests and wider support for the ICC should it choose not to firmly respond.

Japan has a longstanding connection to the establishment of international criminal law. The Tokyo Trials, alongside the Nuremberg Trials, were historic in demonstrating to the world that international criminal justice could be used as a means to end impunity. The ICC’s foundation has its roots in these post-World-War II efforts, providing a court of last resort and a pathway for peace.

As Japan has sought to shape its identity after World-War II, advocating pacifism and renouncing war, international justice has been a prominent component of that image. Japan made major contributions to several ad hoc international criminal tribunals in recent decades, including the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the Cambodia........

© The Japan Times