Doc remembers Tokyo war crimes trials
Print Edition
ON the occasion of the National Memorial Day for the Nanjing Massacre Victims, International Channel Shanghai (ICS) released its newly produced historical documentary series “The Tokyo Trials.”
Based on film recordings, new evidence of war crimes from the recent research and authoritative interviews, the three-episode documentary aims to round up the trials that took place 70 years ago.
The Tokyo Trials, also referred to as the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, opened on May 3, 1946 in the War Ministry office of Japan in Tokyo. The tribunal was formed by representatives from 11 countries, including China, the United State, the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, India and the Philippines.
During the proceedings, both sides brought witnesses, heard testimonies and submitted evidence. There were three major incidence covered by the tribunal — the Nanjing Massacre, the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the Bataan Death March.
The documentary also focuses on the importance of protecting evidence during the war and collecting it after the fighting stopped. After Japan surrendered to the Allies, the Japanese government destroyed a large quantity of evidence.
Video clips show the first American soldiers landing in Japan on August 28, 1945. At that point the Japanese government and imperial army were well aware that they would be held accountable for war crimes. Cabinet members decided to burn all the evidence and documents in their possession.
Meeting memos and written records from the supreme council on the direction of the war vanished. Documents on the Philippines and Southeast Asian were also destroyed, as well as files concerning China and Manchuria.
As one of the most brutal atrocities committed in WWII, the Nanjing Massacre was a particular focus.
On November 4, 1948, the judges entered the court and announced the verdict finally, which took seven days. Twenty-five Class-A war criminals were found guilty and seven were sentenced to death.
Arnold Brackman, a correspondent for the United Press International who sat through the tribunals in Tokyo, wrote a book titled “The Other Nuremberg: The Untold Story of the Tokyo War Crimes Trials.”
On the back flap, he wrote: “Today, those convicted and executed for war crimes in Tokyo have been enshrined. Current Japanese history books treat the war as if it barely existed. ‘The Other Nuremberg’ shows why the trials should not be forgotten — as a warning to future generations that aggression will be brought to justice.”
The documentary is available online at www.kankanews.com. It is in English with Chinese subtitles.
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