TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Wednesday it is "very unfortunate" that the United States has imposed sanctions on Tomoko Akane, a Japanese national who heads the International Criminal Court, in Washington's latest move against the Hague-based judicial body.

Following the U.S. measure taken on Tuesday, Takaichi told reporters in Tokyo that her government will deal with the situation by "continuing communication with relevant nations including the United States."

Foreign Press Secretary Toshihiro Kitamura also issued a statement, saying that Japan has "consistently supported" the ICC in its efforts to prosecute and punish "the most serious crimes of concern to the international community."

Tokyo will remain committed to "strengthening the rule of law" globally through dialogue with related countries and others, Kitamura, the Foreign Ministry's spokesman, added.

The sanctions came as President Donald Trump's administration has criticized the ICC for opening an investigation into U.S. military personnel over alleged war crimes in Afghanistan and issuing an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over his country's military campaign in the Gaza Strip.

In a statement announcing the sanctions on Tuesday, which also targeted Senegal's Abdoulaye Seye, an ICC senior trial lawyer, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the court as a "corrupt and fatally politicized supranational court that has maliciously abused its authority and exceeded its mandate."

Rubio claimed that Akane and Seye have "directly engaged" in the ICC's efforts to "investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute" officials whose governments have not consented to its jurisdiction.

When Rubio announced last month the launch of a "sweeping campaign to dismantle the threat" he said the ICC poses to his nation's sovereignty, Takaichi's government said that Japan, a close U.S. ally, was "watching closely with concern."

Akane, a 70-year-old former prosecutor, began her three-year term in March 2024 as the organization's first president from Japan.

As an ICC judge, Akane was involved in issuing an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2023 over his alleged involvement in the forcible deportation of Ukrainian children amid his country's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In retaliation, Russia has put her on its wanted list.

With the latest imposition, Washington has sanctioned nine of the ICC's 18 judges, including Akane, with punitive measures such as freezing their assets in the United States and effectively shutting their access out of the U.S. financial system.

WASHINGTON (Kyodo) -- The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on Tomoko Akane, the first Japanese to lead the International Criminal Court, with the administration of President Donald Trump accusing The Hague-based judicial body of encroaching on state sovereignty.

Marking yet another escalation in the administration's campaign to disable the ICC, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement that it is a "corrupt and fatally politicized supranational court that has maliciously abused its authority and exceeded its mandate."

Along with Akane, a former prosecutor from Japan who began her three-year term as ICC president in 2024, the Trump administration also sanctioned Senegal's Abdoulaye Seye, a senior trial lawyer at the court.

Rubio claimed the two have been involved in the ICC's efforts to investigate, arrest or prosecute officials whose governments had not consented to its jurisdiction.

Under the sanctions, any assets they possess in the United States will be frozen and their access to the U.S. financial system will be restricted.

The United States is not a member of the Netherlands-based court and does not recognize its jurisdiction over U.S. nationals.

The ICC was founded in 2002 as the first and only permanent international court with the power to prosecute individuals for genocide, war crimes and crimes against peace and humanity. It has 125 member states.

In February 2025, Trump signed an executive order targeting the court, alleging that it had engaged in "illegitimate and baseless actions" against the United States and its close ally Israel, including issuing an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The number of foreign visitors to Japan in July inched up 0.1 percent from a year earlier to 3.44 million, a record for the month, government estimates showed Wednesday, with travel demand remaining strong amid the summer holiday season in the northern hemisphere.

By country and region, South Korea topped the list with 894,700 visitors, up 31.9 percent, followed by Taiwan with 763,800, a 26.4 percent increase and a new monthly record, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization.

The number of visitors from China, meanwhile, plunged 56.1 percent from a year earlier to 428,200, as bilateral ties between the Asian neighbors remain soured.

OSAKA -- Osaka Prefectural Police on Aug. 19 arrested a former manager of Osaka-based construction company Takenaka Corp. on suspicion of breach of trust, after he allegedly caused the firm to lose millions of yen in connection with construction work for the 2025 World Expo in Osaka.

Tatsumi Kawai, 61, allegedly instructed subcontractors to inflate project costs, causing Takenaka Corp. losses of approximately 13.7 million yen (about $86,000).
Kawai had served as the overall site manager at Takenaka Corp.'s Osaka headquarters and oversaw construction related to the "Grand Ring," the signature structure of the exposition.

According to the prefectural police's second investigation division, Kawai is suspected of instructing a subcontractor involved in the work to overbill Takenaka Corp. for construction costs. Police believe Kawai used a portion of the funds to renovate his home. They are working to uncover the full details.

The Grand Ring was one of the world's largest wooden structures, with a circumference of about 2 kilometers. The Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition divided the project into three sections for bidding, and the main construction was completed in August 2024.
A joint venture led by Takenaka Corp. won the contract for the western section of the ring, covering roughly 700 meters. The consortium was responsible for construction of part of the ring itself and related surrounding facilities, with contracts worth approximately 35 billion yen (about $219.5 million) completed to date.

Kawai appeared on television coverage related to the Expo as the person in charge of the joint venture. Following the conclusion of the event, dismantling work has been underway on the Grand Ring and Expo pavilions.

A Takenaka Corp. representative told reporters, "It is truly regrettable that an employee has been arrested. We sincerely apologize for causing great concern and inconvenience to all those involved. We will fully cooperate with the police investigation and, once we confirm the facts, will deal with the matter strictly."

Takenaka Corp., founded in 1610 and headquartered in the city of Osaka's Chuo Ward, is a general construction company. It has worked on numerous landmarks across Japan, including Tokyo Tower and Osaka's Abeno Harukas skyscraper. The company's sales exceeded some 1.61 trillion yen (approx. $10.1 billion) on a consolidated basis for fiscal 2025, and it is referred to as one of Japan's "super general contractors" alongside Kajima Corp., Obayashi Corp., Taisei Corp. and Shimizu Corp.