Japan protested Russia's extradition requests for the ICC president, a Japanese national named Tomoko Akane, and eight other court officials, calling the measures unjust. Russia issued the warrants in retaliation for the ICC's 2023 arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin over the Ukraine war. The U.S. simultaneously imposed sweeping sanctions against the ICC, leaving Japan attempting to balance its support for the court with its alliances with the U.S. and managing deteriorating relations with Russia.