Reuters reported on August 19 that the spokesperson for the United Nations Secretary-General said that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed "deep concern" over the U.S. decision to impose sanctions on Kenji Kuroki, President of the International Criminal Court, and Abdulaye Sayer, a senior trial lawyer. On the same day, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe expressed "regret" regarding the incident.
According to reports, US Secretary of State Mike Rubio imposed sanctions on these individuals on August 18. The specific measures include freezing their assets in the United States, banning US citizens and entities from dealing with them, and imposing travel restrictions on both individuals.
This is the latest step by the Trump administration in response to the establishment of the International Criminal Court in The Hague. This court was established by the international community in 2002 with the aim of prosecuting crimes of war, genocide, and crimes against humanity.
It is reported that the core of Trump’s conflict with the International Criminal Court (ICC) lies in the fact that the United States does not recognize the Court’s jurisdiction and firmly opposes the ICC’s investigation of individuals associated with the United States and its allies.
Members of the ICC include 125 countries and regions, including Japan. The United States, China, Russia, and Israel have yet to join.
Trump's second term has pushed the confrontation between the two sides to an extreme. Through an executive order signed in 2025, he imposed systematic sanctions on the ICC, including the freezing of assets and the prohibition of financial transactions. As of August 2026, half of the judges, including Chief Justice Kishida, have been sanctioned. According to Kyodo News, the direct trigger was the ICC's investigation into the war crimes committed by the US military in Afghanistan, as well as the arrest warrant issued against Israeli leader Netanyahu.
This conflict has sparked widespread international backlash. The International Criminal Court strongly condemned the sanctions, stating that they undermined the rule of law and constituted a “flagrant violation” of the independence of judicial institutions. United States allies such as the Netherlands and Japan also publicly expressed their disapproval. Meanwhile, diplomatic pressure from the United States has led Chad and Venezuela to withdraw from the International Criminal Court.
It is noteworthy that on August 19, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe responded to the decision by the Trump administration of listing Japanese judge Maki Akihide of the International Criminal Court as a target for sanctions. She said, "We deeply regret this. In the future, we will continue to maintain communication and coordination with relevant countries, including the United States."
In January this year, Koike Kairemi publicly stated that she would “strongly support” Akane Tomoko’s work at the International Criminal Court. Now, both she and Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs have only expressed their “deep regret,” which greatly disappointed many Japanese netizens. They felt that this response was weak and even seemed like a concession to the US, aiming to appease matters without taking any real action.
Spokesperson Stefan DiYakir of the United Nations stated at a regular UN General Assembly briefing in New York: "The Secretary-General is deeply concerned by these accusations, as well as previous accusations against other staff of the International Criminal Court." DiYakir pointed out that though the UN and the ICC are separate, independent institutions with distinct mandates, the UN views the ICC as an “important pillar of international criminal justice.”
