The Tokyo war crimes trial : the pursuit of justice in the wake of World War II

366 Pages·2008·24.365 MB·English

by  Yuma Totani

The Tokyo War Crimes Trial
The Pursuit of Justice
in the Wake
of World War II
Harvard East Asian Monographs 299
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Yuma Totani - 978-1-68417-473-7
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The Tokyo War Crimes Trial
The Pursuit of Justice
in the Wake
of World War II
Yuma Totani
Published by the Harvard University Asia Center
and distributed by Harvard University Press
Cambridge (Massachusetts) and London, 2008
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© 2008 by The President and Fellows of Harvard College

Printed in the United States of America

The Harvard University Asia Center publishes a monograph series and, in coordination with the
Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, the Korea Institute, the Reischauer Institute of Japanese
Studies, and other faculties and institutes, administers research projects designed to further schol-
arly understanding of China, Japan, Vietnam, Korea, and other Asian countries. The Center also
sponsors projects addressing multidisciplinary and regional issues in Asia.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Totani, Yuma
The Tokyo war crimes trial : the pursuit of justice in the wake of World War II / Yuma Totani.
p. cm. -- (Harvard East Asian monographs ; 299)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn-13: 978-0-674-02870-8 (cloth : alk. paper) isbn-10: 0-674-02870-8 (cloth : alk. paper)
isbn-13: 978-0-674-03339-9 (pbk : alk. paper)
1. International Military Tribunal for the Far East. 2. War crime trials--Japan. 3. World War,
1939–1945--Atrocities. I. Title.
kz1181.t67 2008
341.6'90268--dc22
2008000815

Printed on acid-free paper

First paperback edition 2009

Last figure below indicates year of this printing

18 17 16 15 14 13

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For my parents and siblings
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Acknowledgments
First and foremost, my gratitude goes to the five members of my dis-
sertation committee for their mentorship during my graduate years at
the University of California, Berkeley. They are Andrew Barshay, Mary
Elizabeth Berry, Irwin Scheiner, David Cohen, and Eric Stover. Their
support and guidance were invaluable in enabling me to complete the
original version of this book. I am grateful also to Andrew Gordon and
Akira Iriye at Harvard University, who provided me with constructive
criticism for revision. I received page-by-page editorial advice from Re-
becca Suter, a fellow researcher during my postdoctoral year at Harvard
University in 2005–06. I cannot thank her enough for her tremendous
assistance.
Over the course of my research, I met many Japanese historians,
lawyers, and other scholars who took an interest in my work and ex-
tended their collegial support. In particular, I would like to thank Haya-
shi Hirofumi at Kantō Gakuin University, Kasahara Tokushi at Tsuru
University, Yoshida Yutaka at Hitotsubashi University, and Ishida Yūji
at the University of Tokyo. Many meetings, workshops, and much cor-
respondence with them revealed to me the richness and vitality of
Japanese scholarship. My thanks also go to Awaya Kentarō at Rikkyō
University, who took the time to discuss our common research inter-
ests and shared with me newly acquired archival records.
I was able to complete this book with funding from the Edwin O.
Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies at Harvard University, where I
was a postdoctoral fellow for one year. I also received generous institu-
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viii Acknowledgments
tional support from the History Department and the College of Liberal
Arts at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where I was a faculty
member between 2006 and 2008.
Finally, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to William M.
Hammell at the Harvard University Asia Center, whose editorial guid-
ance helped me bring this book to completion.
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Contents
List of Figures xi
Note to the Reader xiii
Introduction:
Why the Tokyo Trial Now? 1
1 Lessons from Nuremberg 20
2 The Trial of Emperor Hirohito? 43
3 Tōjō and Other Suspects 63
4 Narrative of the War 78
5 Leadership Responsibility for War Crimes 98
6 Nanking and the Death Railway 119
7 Documenting Japanese Atrocities 151
8 The First Trial Analysts 190
9 Pal’s Dissent and Its Repercussions 218
Conclusion:
Beyond Victors’ Justice 246
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x Contents
Reference Matter
Notes 265
Works Cited 301
Index 323
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