{
  "id": 18660639,
  "title": "ICC chief Akane meets with Japan lawmakers, seeks support from members",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/07/icc-chief-akane-meets-with-japan-lawmakers-seeks-support-from-members",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-07T07:00:14.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Mainichi",
    "slug": "the-mainichi",
    "url": "https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20261107/p2g/00m/0in/012000c"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "International Criminal Court (ICC) President Tomoko Akane met with a group of Japanese lawmakers on Friday at the court's headquarters in The Hague, urging continued support for the tribunal despite sanctions imposed by the United States. Akane herself is subject to U.S. sanctions. She emphasized Japan's substantial contributions to the organization, noting that Japan is the largest financial contributor and has sent judges, including Akane, the first Japanese national to lead the ICC.\n\nThis meeting, the first between Akane and a delegation of Japanese lawmakers since the U.S. under President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on the ICC in October, aimed to highlight the importance of Japan's role in promoting human rights diplomacy. Yasue Funayama, co-head of the parliamentarians group with former Defense Minister Gen Nakatani, told reporters that they felt a renewed sense of need for Japan to take the lead in addressing the sanctions crisis, with a strong determination to communicate Japan's stance to the United States.\n\nFollowing Akane's call for concrete action by U.N. member states in defense of the ICC, Japan's top government spokesman, Minoru Kihara, indicated that the country is considering providing financial assistance to the organization. Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, who served from 2011 to 2012 and also attended the meeting, stated that Japan should not waver in its support for the ICC, especially during a crisis, and called for unity across party lines to bolster the tribunal.",
  "summary": "THE HAGUE (Kyodo) -- International Criminal Court President Tomoko Akane met Friday with a cross-party delegation of Japanese lawmakers and called for",
  "key_points": [
    "ICC President Tomoko Akane meets Japanese lawmakers to seek support.",
    "Akane, first Japanese national, leads ICC as largest financial contributor.",
    "Japan considers financial aid amid U.S. sanctions on ICC."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}