Japan can fund the ICC. But can it save the court?

This screengrab from the International Criminal Court's YouTube channel shows ICC President Tomoko Akane issuing a statement on Oct. 9 in response to the United States placing the court under sanctions. | ICC / YouTube / via JIJI

Nov 13, 2026

Tomoko Akane did not walk to the podium when she presented the International Criminal Court’s annual report to the United Nations General Assembly last week.

The court’s president, a former Japanese prosecutor, appeared instead in a prerecorded video from The Hague, the first time a court president has addressed the Assembly that way since the pandemic. U.S. sanctions now cover her personally and, since Oct. 9, the court itself. She asked all 193 U.N. members to take concrete action in its defense. Within days, her own government answered in the one currency the sanctions are really aimed at.

Tokyo is considering paying its 2027 contribution to the court ahead of schedule, possibly through a second supplementary budget for fiscal 2026. Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara has said the government would “consider what financial measures we can take.”

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