An anecdote about Indo-Japanese connection. Remembered in Japan, forgotten in India........

The day was 12 November, 1948. Tokyo Trials are going on in a huge garden house on the outskirts of Tokyo, the trial of fifty-five Japanese war criminals including Japan's then Prime Minister Tojo, after losing WWII. 

Of these, twenty-eight people have been identified as Class-A (crimes against peace) war criminals. If proved, the only punishment is the "death penalty". Eleven international judges from all over the world are announcing......"Guilty".... "Guilty"...... "Guilty"......... Suddenly one thundered, "Not Guilty!" A silence came down in the hallway. Who was this lone dissenter? His name was Radha Binod Pal, a Judge from India.

In his convincing argument to the rest of the jurists he signified that the Allies, (winners of WWII), also violated the principles of restraint and neutrality of international law. In addition to ignoring Japan's surrender hints, they killed two hundred thousand innocent people using nuclear bombardment.

The judges were forced to drop many of the accused from Class-A to B, after seeing the logic written on twelve hundred thirty-two pages by Radha Binod Pal. These Class-B war criminals were saved by him from a sure death penalty. His verdict in the international court gave him and India a world-famous reputation.

Japan respects this great man. In 1966 Emperor Hirohito awarded him the highest civilian honor of the country, 'Kokko Kunsao'. Two busy roads in Tokyo and Kyotto have been named after him. The law has been included in the syllabus of his sentence. In front of the Supreme Court of Tokyo, his statue has been placed. In 2007, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed his desire to meet his family members in Delhi and met his son.

Dr. Radha Binod Pal (27 January 1886 - 10 January 1967), his name is remembered in the history of Japan. In Tokyo, he has a museum and a statue in Yasukuni shrine. Japan University has a research center in his name. 

Indian government awarded him with a Padma Vibhushan in 1959. He has since faded away from the memories of Indians, but the Japanese have kept his memory alive.