🇯🇵 Japan · International
36 storiesJapan, UK, France, Germany and four others 'strongly oppose' US sanctions on the ICC
Foreign ministers of eight countries, including Japan, Britain, France and Germany, issued a joint statement saying they regret and strongly oppose the Trump administration's decision to sanction the International Criminal Court (ICC) itsel…
Nobel Peace Prize due Oct. 9: ICC and child-aid groups tipped, Trump seen as unlikely
The 2026 Nobel Peace Prize is to be announced on October 9, and Japanese outlets report that groups helping children in Ukraine and Sudan, and the International Criminal Court (ICC), whose president Tomoko Akane has been sanctioned by the T…
Nobel Peace Prize goes to South African jurist Navi Pillay for international law work
The Norwegian Nobel Committee announced on October 9 that the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize goes to Navanethem (Navi) Pillay, 85, the South African-born former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and former International Criminal Court judge, fo…
US sanctions International Criminal Court; Japan's Takaichi says she is 'deeply concerned'
The Trump administration on October 9 designated the International Criminal Court (ICC) itself as a target of sanctions, after sanctioning ICC President Tomoko Akane in August. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi wrote on X that the meas…
Taiwan's Lai urges stronger defence and preservation of Taiwan Strait status quo
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te called for stronger defence in his October 10 Double Ten Day speech and accused China of trying to change the Taiwan Strait status quo. He said greater defence investment was intended to deter war rather than p…
Bessent to miss IMF and World Bank annual meetings in Bangkok
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will miss the IMF and World Bank annual meetings beginning in Bangkok on October 12, Japanese outlets reported. The Treasury's deputy secretary and undersecretary for international affairs will attend, ac…
ICC rejects US sanctions and urges countries to help sustain its work
The International Criminal Court rejected US sanctions against the court itself in an October 9 statement. President Tomoko Akane said it would continue its mission independently and impartially, while appealing to countries for support.
Takaichi emailed that China's sanctions on LDP's Furuya were 'very honorable', he says
Keiji Furuya, an LDP lower house member who chairs the cross-party Japan-Taiwan friendship parliamentary league, said Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi sent him an email calling China's sanctions against him "a very honorable sanction". China i…
Takaichi video message marks 50 years of Japan-Australia ties at Chiba conference
Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae sent a video message on 5 October to the Japan-Australia Economic Conference at Makuhari Messe in Chiba City, held to mark 50 years since the two countries' 1976 friendship and cooperation treaty. She pointed t…
Israel criticizes Nobel Peace Prize for Navi Pillay as EU leaders welcome choice
Israel condemned the selection of former UN human rights chief Navi Pillay for this year's Nobel Peace Prize. European Union leaders welcomed the award, praising her work for human rights and the rule of law.
Nobel committee chair calls for end to attacks on rule of law after Pillay peace prize
Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said on October 9 that the rule of law is under "enormous pressure" and that attacks and sanctions against individuals and organisations defending it "need to stop". Frydnes spoke in an exclu…
ICC President Akane congratulates ex-ICC judge Navi Pillay on Nobel Peace Prize
International Criminal Court President Tomoko Akane issued a statement on October 9 congratulating Navi Pillay, a former ICC judge and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, on being chosen for the Nobel Peace Prize. Akane said the a…
Russia asks Netherlands and other countries to hand over ICC President Akane
Russia's Prosecutor General's Office announced on October 8 that it had requested the handover of International Criminal Court President Tomoko Akane and others from the Netherlands and several other countries. Tokyo Shimbun and Nikkei repo…
UK's Burnham positive on Germany joining Japan-UK-Italy GCAP fighter project
British Prime Minister Burnham said on 8 October that he had conveyed a positive stance toward Germany joining the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), the next-generation fighter project of Japan, the UK and Italy. He spoke at a press confe…
South Korea to recall Ukraine envoy over disclosure of prisoner transfer
South Korea announced on October 8 that it would recall its ambassador to Ukraine following a dispute over public disclosure of the transfer of two North Korean prisoners. Seoul says the transfer was covered by a confidentiality agreement, …
South Korea postpones CPTPP application beyond 2026 amid farming and fishing concerns
South Korea will not apply to join the CPTPP trade pact in 2026, according to Japanese reports citing the presidential office. President Lee Jae-myung directed officials to prioritise dialogue and trust with farmers and fishers concerned ab…
Trump urged Xi to hold talks with Japan's Takaichi, Hong Kong paper reports
Hong Kong's South China Morning Post reported on October 8 that US President Trump urged Chinese President Xi Jinping, at their summit in Washington last month, to hold talks with Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi and to ease China's export …
Myanmar's Min Aung Hlaing meets Malaysian PM Anwar on first visit since 2021 coup
Min Aung Hlaing, president of Myanmar's pro-military government, met Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar in Malaysia on October 8, Kyodo reported. It is his first visit to Malaysia since the February 2021 military coup, as Myanmar steps up diplo…
Japan lodges representation with China over untitled mention of PM Takaichi
Japan's Foreign Ministry said on Oct. 7 that it lodged a representation with China after a Chinese Foreign Ministry official referred to Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae by name without her title at a press conference in late September. Foreig…
Former President Tsai Ing-wen calls Taiwan an 'indispensable partner' in US speech
Former President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) gave a speech in the United States in which she described Taiwan as an "indispensable partner", according to Japanese newspaper headlines published on 8 October 2026. Sankei Shimbun's headline says she ca…