FACT-CHECK: Duterte won’t be sent to Japan

Claim: Former president Rodrigo Duterte will be taken to Japan. 

Rating: FALSE 

Why we fact-checked this: The Facebook reel bearing the said claim has already garnered an estimated 409,000 views. The post shows a video with a text, “PRRD DADALHIN SA JAPAN (PRRD will be taken to Japan).” 

“Breaking news po, dating pangulong Duterte, dadalhin na po sa Japan. At ngayon, hindi na Pilipino ang sumisigaw ha, kundi isang Japanese representative mismo ng International Career Support Association,” the background audio says. 

(Breaking news, former president Duterte will be brought to Japan. And now, it is not only a Filipino who is cheering for Duterte, but a Japanese representative of the International Career Support Association.)

The post further claimed that the said association called for humanitarian intervention and interim release for Duterte before the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC). 

Some Facebook users in the comment section believed the said claim. One comment reads, “Salamat lord makalabas na c dating pangulong dute sa wakas! (Thank God, former president Duterte can finally be released!)” 

The facts: Duterte will not be brought to Japan as he remains detained in the International Criminal Court (ICC) facility in The Hague, Netherlands while waiting for the full trial scheduled on November 30. 

The false post revives an old claim about Japan’s involvement in Duterte’s case, particularly Fujiki Sunichi of ICSA, a non-government organization in Japan. 

In April, Rappler debunked a false claim saying that Duterte will be rescued by the UN after Fujiki spoke at the UNHRC. A post claiming that Duterte will be sent to Japan after Fujiki met Senator Rodante Marcoleta was also flagged as false. Rappler recently debunked a false claim saying that the UN served an arrest warrant against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. 

These false posts stemmed from Fujiki’s speech and statement to the UN where he condemned the alleged injustice in Duterte’s arrest and called on the UN to have a humanitarian review of the case. 

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) dismissed the said move, saying that the UN will probably take no action. 

“This is not the first time the International Career Support Association (ICSA) has brought these baseless claims  before the United Nations. None of its previous actions have borne any fruit,” the DFA said.

Duterte’s ICC case: The first status conference on Duterte’s ICC case did not mention him being brought to Japan. In fact, the trial is set to begin on November 30. 

On May 22, the ICC Trial Chamber III decided that Duterte will continue to be detained. “The Chamber therefore finds no notable change in circumstances [of Duterte] that warrants the release of the accused, with or without conditions,” the chamber said.

Duterte was arrested in March 2025 and was sent to The Hague, Netherlands to face charges of crimes against humanity over his administration’s war on drugs. The extrajudicial killings reportedly took the lives of over 30,000 victims. 

Previous fact-checks: Rappler has fact-checked similar false claims about Japan’s involvement in Duterte’s ICC case: 

• FACT CHECK: No UN plan to ‘rescue’ Duterte from ICC custody 
• FACT CHECK: No motion filed by Japan, US for Duterte ICC release 
• FACT CHECK: Duterte will not be sent to Japan after Marcoleta-Fujiki meeting 
• FACT CHECK: No UN arrest warrant for Marcos 
• FACT CHECK: No UN plan to ‘rescue’ Duterte from ICC custody 

– Angelee Kaye Abelinde/Rappler.com 

Angelee Kaye Abelinde is a student journalist based in Naga City, and an alumna of Rappler’s Aries Rufo Journalism Fellowship 2024. 

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