Photo/Illutration Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks at the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 22. (Takeshi Iwashita)

Speaking at the U.N. General Assembly, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi emphasized the rule of law and expressed Japan’s support of the International Criminal Court.

In her meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, she also exchanged views about the ICC.

But Trump continued to ramp up pressure on the ICC, calling on nations to leave the international court in his U.N. speech.

Future actions will determine if the principles of Japanese diplomacy are maintained.

In her speech, Takaichi pledged that Japan would “contribute to maintaining and developing a free and open order based on the rule of law” amid huge wavering in the international order.

She named not only the ICC, but also the International Court of Justice and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and said that Japan had consistently supported such international courts and had sent judges to serve on them.

While she pointed to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as an example of an attempt to change the status quo through force, she did not mention the U.S. attack on Iran.

She also did not specifically touch upon the sanctions imposed by the United States on the ICC that covered President Tomoko Akane.

While that may have been out of consideration for the United States, with the ICC, the last bastion for international justice, now facing superpower pressure, she should have more aggressively spoken about the crisis facing that organization and called upon the international community to support the ICC.

At the same time, Takaichi also made clear her stance of emphasizing the United Nations, saying there was never a time such as now in which it was so important.

That is clearly different from the Trump administration, which has been critical of the United Nations, and has prioritized its own interests and bilateral negotiations over international cooperation.

We hope that she will take the lead in seeking to resolve global issues.

Prior to her U.N. speech, Takaichi met with Trump and the leaders agreed to strengthen cooperation in economic security areas.

The meeting was held two days before Trump’s summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping and at her news conference, Takaichi said it showed the world the strength of the Japan-U.S. alliance.

She explained that in her meeting with Trump she brought up the ICC and said there was a frank exchange of views.

But no details of what was discussed have emerged.

An evaluation of whether she called for a retraction of the sanctions and lobbied against expanding sanctions will have to await future developments.

While the leaders of the world gathered at the U.N. General Assembly held as a venue for multilateral cooperation, Trump from the rostrum described the ICC as a “rogue institution” and urged member nations to immediately leave it.

There are reports that the United States is preparing additional sanctions as a way of dismantling the ICC.

While cooperating with nations that support the ICC, such as in Europe, Japan must protect the unity of member nations and the functioning of the court.

Having spoken to the international community about the importance of the rule of law, Takaichi now has the responsibility to produce results through specific actions.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Sept. 24

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