03 May 1946: Trial Of Japanese World War Two Crimes Begins In Tokyo, Japan

In Tokyo, Japan on 3 May 1946, the International Military Tribunals for the Far East

begins hearing the case against 28 Japanese military and government officials

accused of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity during World War II.

On 4 November 1948, the trial ended with 25 of 28 Japanese defendants being found guilty. Of the other three defendants, two had died during the lengthy trial, and one was declared insane.

On 12 November 1946, the war crimes tribunal passed death sentences on seven of the men, including General Hideki Tojo, who served as Japanese Premier during World War II,

and other principals such as Iwane Matsui,

who organized the Rape of Nanking,

and Heitaro Kimura,

who brutalized Allied prisoners of war.

Sixteen other individuals were sentenced to life imprisonment, and two were sentenced to lesser terms in prison.

On 23 December 1948, Tojo and the six others were executed in Tokyo.

Unlike the Nuremberg trial of Nazi war criminals, where there were four chief prosecutors, to represent Great Britain, France, the United States, and the Soviet Union,

the Tokyo trial featured only one chief prosecutor – American Joseph B. Keenan,

a former assistant to the United States Attorney General. However, other nations, especially China,

contributed to the proceedings, and Australian Judge William Flood Webb presided.

In addition to the central Tokyo trial, various tribunals sitting outside Japan judged approximately 5,000 Japanese guilty of war crimes, of which more than 900 were executed.

Some observers thought that Emperor Hirohito 

should have been tried for his tacit approval of Japanese policy during World War II,

but he was protected by United States authorities who saw him as a symbol of Japanese unity and conservatism,

both favorable traits in the postwar view by the United States.

SOURCES: www.wikipedia.org ; www.britannica.com ; www.encyclopedia.com ; www.worldwar2database.com ; www.ww2db.com ; www.rarenewspapers.com ; www.trumanlibrary.org ; www.cnn.com ; www.c-span.org ; www.macarthurmemorial.org ; www.icc-cpi.int ; www.legal-tools.org ; www.loc.gov ; www.pbs.org ; www.npr.org ; www.un.org ; www.historynet.com/american-history-tv-new-from-c-span.htm ; www.quora.com ; www.historytoday.com ; www.history.com ; www.reuters.com ; www.theguardian.com ; www.theatlantic.com ; www.youtube.com ; www.slideplayer.com ; www.slideshare.net ; www.pinterest.com ; www.alamy.com ; www.gettyimages.com ; www.rarehistoricalphotos.com ; www.google.com ; www.bing.com