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2026 July 15 - 21 [POLITICS]

JCP Yamazoe: Japan should protest Rubio’s announcement of campaign to dismantle ICC

Japanese Communist Party lawmaker Yamazoe Taku on July 16 demanded that Japan lodge a strong protest against U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who recently launched a campaign to “dismantle” the International Criminal Court (ICC). He also demanded that Japan urge the U.S. Trump administration to retract Rubio’s announcement.

Rubio on July 13 announced a campaign to dismantle the ICC, pressuring member governments to withdraw from the tribunal which he calls a threat to U.S. sovereignty.

In response to Yamazoe at a meeting of the House of Councillors Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu merely stated, “We observe the U.S. announcement with concern,” while expressing Japan’s consistent support for the ICC.

Yamazoe criticized the U.S. stance, saying, “Japan should not dismiss it as mere concern with an observant eye. It amounts to throwing the rule of law out the window.” He once again demanded that Japan urge the U.S. to retract the announcement.

Israel’s attacks on Gaza have killed approximately 73,000 people to date. Of those, more than 21,280 were children. A UN independent commission of inquiry released a report on June 23 which concluded that Israel deliberately targeted Palestinian children as part of a strategy to destroy the future of Palestinians in Gaza. The commission determined that these actions constitute genocide.

The ICC is an independent global tribunal located in The Hague. The court investigates and prosecutes perpetrators of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. Japan officially joined the ICC in 2007.