Why This Topic Landed in Japan

Three separate events from UN General Assembly week surfaced on the same day and got discussed together as one question: how should Japan and the US deal with international institutions and great-power politics? On the ICC, Trump used his General Assembly speech to call the court "anti-American" and urge member states to withdraw — though it is unclear whether the call for all members to withdraw came from his own remarks or from Secretary of State Rubio's separate ICC stance. On the UN Charter's old "enemy state" clause, PM Takaichi demanded its prompt deletion in her own speech; the clause is widely treated internationally as a dead letter, and removing it would require a Charter amendment involving China and Russia as permanent members. The fact that the ICC is currently headed by a Japanese jurist, Tomoko Akane, sharpened interest in where Japan stands. The third strand was Trump pressing a CNN reporter — barred from the White House — at UN headquarters, repeating that they had no business being there. The three are distinct events that happened to surface in the same week.

Key Reaction Themes

  • Divided over the enemy-state clause — The most active split: many cheered Takaichi for finally saying it, while a strong realist strand warned that raising a dead-letter clause only hands China a diplomatic pretext.
  • A split verdict on the ICC — Mockery ("an anti-US farce," "the death throes of a wanted man") ran up against defense ("an institution that can say it'll arrest Putin is absolutely necessary").
  • Pushback on US unilateralism and shielding Israel — "The arrest warrant for Netanyahu is just inconvenient," "it's inconvenient for Trump, not for America."
  • On the reporter clash — Cool assessments of Trump's conduct mixed with a broader distrust of legacy media.

What Japanese Netizens Are Saying

Trump calls on ICC members to withdraw

Trump used his UN General Assembly speech to brand the ICC "anti-American" and urge member states to quit.

日本経済新聞 電子版（日経電子版）
日本経済新聞 電子版（日経電子版）
@nikkei
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トランプ氏、国連全加盟国にICC脱退を要請　「反米的な法廷」 nikkei.com/article/DGXZQO…

www.nikkei.comトランプ氏、ICC加盟国に脱退を要請　「反米的な法廷」【ニューヨーク=甲原潤之介】トランプ米大統領は22日、国連総会で演説し、全加盟国に国際刑事裁判所（ICC）から脱退するよう呼びかけた。「我々が管轄権を持たない反米的な法廷で、米国の軍人らが捜査されることを決して許さない」と主張した。米政権はICCの赤根智子所長に対し制裁措置をとっている。トランプ氏は国際機関による秩序を「グローバリストの官僚による極左的なアジェンダの押しつけ」だと持論を展開した
Reply
Read 68 replies

Sources: Nikkei, 2ch

Comments:

  • "America's own stance is one thing, but the nerve to drag other countries along with it."
  • "Did Takaichi actually say this properly at the Japan-US summit?"
  • "The US isn't a member to begin with, so it won't be investigated anyway — do they want to shield Israel that badly?"
  • "We're returning to an age where might makes right."
  • "From here on we go back to a 'the winners are justice' era, like the Tokyo Trials."
  • "This is all because they convicted Netanyahu, lol."
  • "It's because Trump himself looks likely to get arrested."
  • "America: 'The world keeps isolating itself from us.'"
  • "Was he told by Israel to say that?"
  • "The arrest warrant for Netanyahu must be really inconvenient for them."
  • "It's a body that can say it'll arrest Putin — of course it's necessary."
  • "If anything, plenty of countries back the ICC precisely because it's anti-US."
  • "At the Japan-US summit they probably just laid out each country's position on the ICC. Japan isn't in a position to make demands of the US anyway."
  • "It's not inconvenient for America — just for 'me' (Trump)."

PM Takaichi demands deletion of the "enemy state" clause

In her UN speech, PM Takaichi called for the prompt deletion of the Charter's old "enemy state" clause.

Sources: Yahoo! news, 2ch

Comments:

  • "Stop paying money to an organization that keeps tolerating what's written in that clause."
  • "They might as well go so far as to say they won't pay their dues."
  • "It's only written in the clause — nobody is actually calling Japan an enemy."
  • "Rather than say all that, it'd be quicker to just withdraw."
  • "The enemy-state clause permits an attack on Japan, but it doesn't forbid other members from coming to Japan's aid."
  • "Deleting it isn't realistic, but Ishiba couldn't have said it even if he were reborn a hundred times."
  • "This becomes a card to refuse anything, on the grounds that it wasn't accepted."
  • "Since Russia was the one to bring it up, it could give the EU — which is aiding Ukraine — a reason to strengthen ties with Japan."
  • "It's impossible with China and Russia sitting there."
  • "Even if we beat China or Russia, we'll still be treated as a US vassal unless we beat the US too."
  • "The utterly useless UN should be made into a proper institution."
  • "If the UN can't be rebuilt, it should be dismantled."

Trump berates a CNN reporter at UN headquarters

Trump pressed a CNN reporter barred from the White House, repeating that they had no business being there.

Sources: Yahoo! news, 2ch

Comments:

  • "This is what happens when you anger Trump — though once he leaves office, CNN will trash him mercilessly."
  • "Well, it's kind of expected for a liberal outlet. In Japanese terms, banning Asahi and Mainichi too is better than banning only the Tokyo Shimbun, right?"
  • "Once he's out he's just an ordinary person and won't get covered anymore — unlike Japan, where former PMs stick around as political elders."
  • "He's been getting trashed for about ten years already — CNN was bad-mouthing Trump even during the Biden administration."
  • "And he said it'd be over in a few weeks..."
  • "He's banned from the White House, but the UN headquarters should be fair game."
  • "Go ask them when Iran is going to surrender."
  • "The internet has made it so anyone can put out information, and politicians can speak to the public directly. So isn't leaking to TV and newspapers first — outfits that profit off other people's information — nothing short of a betrayal of the public?"
  • "It's probably because Trump has no right to say anything about who may enter the UN (serious answer)."
  • "CNN is America's Asahi, so what can you do."
  • "Legacy media, hated the world over — who do you people think you are? 😡"
  • "American TV can criticize the US president but can't criticize Israel. America's free speech is a counterfeit."
  • "Refusing with 'no comment' would be a gray area too, but openly flying into a rage and hurling abuse makes you wonder whether there's something he's afraid of being asked — it's disillusioning."