ICC's Japanese president says she 'won't give up' despite US sanctions

The Japanese president of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Tomoko Akane, said she would not back down under US pressure. Last week, Washington announced that it was sanctioning Akane, as well as the body's Senegalese senior trial lawyer, Abdoulaye Seye. It came amid US President Donald Trump's stated mission of dismantling the ICC for investigating Israeli and, potentially, US officials for war crimes. Akane told reporters on Wednesday that the sanctions have lead to her credit card access being blocked, but added that "even if sanctions against the ICC itself are added, we won't give up". "A permanent body like the ICC must never be shut down. We must not let it be shut down. We will resist with all our might," she said. Akane's remarks come a day after Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi defended her government's condemnation of the US sanctions as "very unfortunate", brushing off criticism of a "weak" response. "As the ICC's biggest funder, we must protect such an important organisation," Takaichi told reporters on Tuesday, adding that Japan will "engage when and where necessary". Washington's latest move follows sanctions it imposed on several ICC officials, seen as largely in response to the court's investigations involving Israel for its crimes against humanity and genocide. Akane also expressed hope for Japan, the court's biggest funder, to take action amid US pressure. "I hope Japan will reach out to less powerful member countries that might succumb to the US pressure to leave [the ICC], and encourage them to stick together," she said.