Japan's former defense chief urges challenge to U.S. ICC sanctions

Gen Nakatani, a former Japanese defense chief and senior member of the Liberal Democratic Party, is urging Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to formally challenge United States sanctions against the International Criminal Court (ICC) and its Japanese president, Tomoko Akane.

The U.S. imposed these sanctions on the ICC and approximately a dozen staff members in response to investigations involving Israeli officials in Gaza and U.S. military personnel in Afghanistan. Nakatani characterized the move as an attack on the rules-based international order and argued that Japan should not face a choice between its security alliance with Washington and its commitment to the rule of law.

A cross-party coalition of lawmakers, led by Nakatani, intends to submit formal demands to the Takaichi administration by mid-September. The group is calling for the retraction of the sanctions and a firm expression of Japanese support for the ICC. This political pressure arrives ahead of Prime Minister Takaichi’s upcoming trip to the United States for the United Nations General Assembly.