Tokyo:Thousands have signed a petition urging Japan to engage in discussions with the United States to remove sanctions placed on Tomoko Akane, a Japanese judge at the International Criminal Court (ICC).

According to Anadolu Agency, the Trump administration imposed sanctions on Akane in August due to her involvement with the ICC's initiatives to investigate and prosecute officials from countries that have not consented to the court's jurisdiction. This move by the US followed the ICC's issuance of arrest warrants in November 2024 for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes in Gaza.

In response, a group of lawyers submitted nearly 175,000 signatures to the Japanese government, advocating for negotiations with the US to revoke the sanctions on Akane. The group, which includes lawyers who were once students of Akane at Nagoya University Graduate School of Law, is supported by international human rights organizations.

Japanese Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Masanao Ozaki expressed the government's longstanding support for the ICC and acknowledged the concerns of the petitioners. Kentaro Uematsu, a member of the group, highlighted the widespread public perception of the issue as a personal concern, which contributed to the substantial number of signatures collected.

Akane conveyed her gratitude to the group, emphasizing that individual efforts, while small, are not without power. The Trump administration has previously expressed its intent to "dismantle" the ICC, which is backed by over 120 countries to investigate war crimes globally.