Judgment at Tokyo/Gary Bass

Gary Bass, a Princeton historian, has written a magisterial and definitive work on the tribunal constituted by Supreme Commander Douglas MacArthur to try the main forces behind Japan’s war crimes during World War Two.

The tribunal problems – one might even say flaws – were threefold: its composition, jurisprudence and evidence.

The tribunal was co-opted from 11 judges drawn from countries who suffered from Japanese war crimes. The Americans appointed Myron Cramer as a judge, with Joseph Keenan as Chief Prosecutor. Keenan was much criticised by the other judges for his drinking and poor advocacy.

The Commonwealth had judges from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, India – whose judge issued a powerful dissenting judgment as did the Dutch judge Burt Röllin who represented the then Dutch colony of Indonesia. The Chinese judge Mei was actually bombed in a Chinese city by the Japanese Air Force. A Scottish judge – Lord Walker – and a Filipino judge made up the tribunal panel who certainly did not  all “sing from the hymn sheet”.

As for evidence, much was destroyed by the Japanese – most notably of the massacre at Nanking. Furthermore the principals on trial were military chiefs and Ministers who cited ignorance as the basis of their defence.

When it came to jurisprudence, the Americans were in difficulty alleging that Japan had carried out an aggressive war on civilians as they had incinerated Hiroshima and Nagasaki with atomic bombs.The Americans wanted to ‘get even’ after Pearl Harbour whilst the Australians whose judge William Webb presided over the Tribunal

were morw concerned by the atrocities in the a prisoner of war camps   The Japanese mentality to prisoners was they committed dishonour

One significant figure not indicted was Emperor Hirohito himself, who was undoubtedly complicit.

MacArthur and the American secretary of war Henry Stimson – both Republicans – clearly believed that, for a peaceful submission of the Japanese, Hirohito had to remain in place.

The world order changed in the 1940s and Japan went from vanquished foe to regional ally against Communism.

This is a thoroughly researched work of scholarship and if the British reader might rankle against American spelling eg defense  he/ she will also appreciate the clarity of writing and editing. . My only (minor) critique is in the final part titled Nemesis  Bass gives too much attention to the Indian judge Pal and a review of more contemporary war crimes and warlords like Slobodan Milisevic might have been written.