The International Committee was established in 1937 to establish and manage the Nanking Safety Zone .
156-584: Many Westerners were living in the city at that time, conducting trade or on missionary trips. As the Imperial Japanese Army began to approach Nanjing (also known as Nanking), most of them fled the city. A small number of Western businessmen, journalists and missionaries , however, chose to remain behind. The missionaries were primarily Americans from the Episcopal , Disciples of Christ , Presbyterian , and Methodist churches. To coordinate their efforts,
312-501: A "verdict reached by a Tribunal after a defective procedure cannot be a valid one." "It is well-nigh impossible to define the concept of initiating or waging a war of aggression both accurately and comprehensively," wrote Justice Bert Röling of the Netherlands in his dissent. He stated, "I think that not only should there have been neutrals in the court, but there should have been Japanese also." He argued that they would always have been
468-607: A 15,000-strong force, some of which had been trained by French military advisers. They were opposed by 5,000 troops from the Satsuma, Chōshū, and Tosa domains. At the two road junctions of Toba and Fushimi just south of Kyoto, the two forces clashed. On the second day, an Imperial banner was given to the defending troops and a member of the Imperial Family, the Prince Ninnaji , was named nominal commander in chief , in effect making
624-462: A 1927 document known as the Tanaka Memorial showed that a "common plan or conspiracy" to commit "crimes against peace" bound the accused together. Thus, the prosecution argued that the conspiracy had begun in 1927 and continued through to the end of the war in 1945. The Tanaka Memorial is now considered by most historians to have been an anti-Japanese forgery; however, it was not regarded as such at
780-528: A Qing territory. It marked the first overseas deployment of the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy. An Imperial Rescript to Soldiers and Sailors of 1882 called for unquestioning loyalty to the Emperor by the new armed forces and asserted that commands from superior officers were equivalent to commands from the Emperor himself. Thenceforth, the military existed in an intimate and privileged relationship with
936-511: A counterbalance to the Chinese troops camped at Asan. Simultaneously, the Japanese decided to send a reinforced brigade of approximately 8,000 troops to Korea. The reinforced brigade, included auxiliary units, under the command of General Oshima Yoshimasa was fully transported to Korea by June 27. The Japanese stated to the Chinese that they were willing to withdraw the brigade under General Oshima if
1092-612: A decisive blow to the Russian armies. Over-reliance on infantry led to large casualties among Japanese forces, especially during the siege of Port Arthur . The Empire of Japan entered the war on the Entente side . Although tentative plans were made to send an expeditionary force of between 100,000 and 500,000 men to fight in France on the Western Front , ultimately among the few actions in which
1248-500: A dissenting opinion: he found the entire prosecution case to be weak regarding the conspiracy to commit an act of aggressive war, which would include the brutalization and subjugation of conquered nations. About the Nanking Massacre —while acknowledging the brutality of the incident—he said that there was nothing to show that it was the "product of government policy" or that Japanese government officials were directly responsible. There
1404-513: A factor in the government's abolition of the han system . The military ministry ( Hyōbushō ) was reorganized in July 1871; on August 29, simultaneously with the decree abolishing the domains, the Dajōkan ordered local daimyos to disband their private armies and turn their weapons over to the government. Although the government played on the foreign threat, especially Russia's southward expansion, to justify
1560-570: A higher degree of return for their low pay than they otherwise would have received. However, at the end of the war, the Imperial Japanese ministry of finance cancelled all military bank notes, rendering the military yen worthless. Throughout the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II, the Imperial Japanese Army had shown immense brutality and engaged in numerous atrocities against civilians , as well as prisoners of war – with
1716-444: A hundred attorneys, three-quarters of them Japanese and one-quarter American, plus a support staff. The defense opened its case on January 27, 1947, and finished its presentation 225 days later on September 9, 1947. The defense argued that the trial could never be free from substantial doubt as to its "legality, fairness and impartiality". The defense challenged the indictment, arguing that crimes against peace, and more specifically,
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#17328377309841872-505: A judgment in which he dismissed the legitimacy of the IMTFE as victor's justice : "I would hold that each and every one of the accused must be found not guilty of each and every one of the charges in the indictment and should be acquitted on all those charges." While taking into account the influence of wartime propaganda, exaggerations, and distortions of facts in the evidence, and "over-zealous" and "hostile" witnesses, Pal concluded, "The evidence
2028-531: A justice of the U.S. Supreme Court . Justice Jaranilla had been captured by the Japanese and survived the Bataan Death March. The defense sought to remove him from the bench claiming he would be unable to maintain objectivity. The request was rejected but Jaranilla did excuse himself from presentation of evidence for atrocities in his native country of the Philippines. Justice Radhabinod Pal argued that
2184-576: A means of resolving disputes. This was enacted by the Japanese in order to prevent militarism , which had led to conflict. However, in 1947 the Public Security Force was formed; later in 1954, in the early stages of the Cold War , the Public Security Force formed the basis of the newly created Ground Self-Defense Force. Although significantly smaller than the former Imperial Japanese Army and nominally for defensive purposes only, this force constitutes
2340-519: A minority and therefore would not have been able to sway the balance of the trial. However, "they could have convincingly argued issues of government policy which were unfamiliar to the Allied justices." Pointing out the difficulties and limitations in holding individuals responsible for an act of state and making omission of responsibility a crime, Röling called for the acquittal of several defendants, including Hirota. Justice Radhabinod Pal of India produced
2496-522: A national army, the immediately perceived danger was domestic insurrection. Consequently, on August 31, the country was divided into four military districts, each with its own chindai ( garrison ) to deal with peasant uprisings or samurai insurrections. The Imperial Guard formed the Tokyo garrison, whereas troops from the former domains filled the ranks of the Osaka, Kumamoto, and Sendai garrisons. The four garrisons had
2652-638: A shortage of supplies, especially food, medicine, munitions, and armaments, largely due to submarine interdiction of supplies, and losses to Japanese shipping, which was worsened by a longstanding rivalry with the Imperial Japanese Navy . The lack of supplies caused large numbers of fighter aircraft to become unserviceable for lack of spare parts, and "as many as two-thirds of Japan's total military deaths [to result] from illness or starvation". Compared to respective armies in Europe or America , soldiers in
2808-538: A total of about 8,000 troops – mostly infantry, but also a few hundred artillerymen and engineers. Smaller detachments of troops also guarded outposts at Kagoshima, Fushimi, Nagoya, Hiroshima, and elsewhere. By late December 1871, the army set modernization and coastal defense as priorities; long-term plans were devised for an armed force to maintain internal security, defend strategic coastal areas, train and educate military and naval officers, and build arsenals and supply depots. Despite previous rhetoric about
2964-581: A wrecked merchant vessel from the Ryukyu Kingdom on the southwestern tip of Taiwan. 12 men were rescued by the local Chinese-speaking community and were transferred to Miyako-jima in the Ryukyu Islands. The Empire of Japan used this as an excuse to both assert sovereignty over the Ryukyu Kingdom, which was a tributary state of both Japan and Qing China at the time, and to attempt the same with Taiwan,
3120-417: Is "no evidence, testimonial or circumstantial, concomitant, prospectant, restrospectant, that would in any way lead to the inference that the government in any way permitted the commission of such offences," he said. In any case, he added, conspiracy to wage aggressive war was not illegal in 1937, or at any point since. In addition, Pal thought the refusal to try what he perceived as Allied crimes (particularly
3276-574: Is still overwhelming that atrocities were perpetrated by the members of the Japanese armed forces against the civilian population of some of the territories occupied by them as also against the prisoners of war." One defendant, Shūmei Ōkawa , was found mentally unfit for trial and the charges were dropped. Two defendants, Yōsuke Matsuoka and Osami Nagano , died of natural causes during the trial. Six defendants were sentenced to death by hanging for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and crimes against peace (Class A, Class B and Class C): One defendant
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#17328377309843432-850: The Hokushin-ron doctrine, and the Japanese establishment of a puppet state in Manchuria brought the two countries into conflict. The war lasted on and off with the last battles of the 1930s (the Battle of Lake Khasan and the Battles of Khalkhin Gol ) ending in a decisive victory for the Soviets. The conflicts stopped with the signing of the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact on April 13, 1941. However, later, at
3588-459: The 1931 Japanese invasion of Manchuria . Twenty-eight high-ranking Japanese military and political leaders were tried by the court, including current and former prime ministers, cabinet members, and military commanders. They were charged with fifty-five separate counts, including the waging wars of aggression , murder, and various war crimes and crimes against humanity (such as torture and forced labor) against prisoners-of-war, civilian internees, and
3744-512: The Bolshevik Revolution , the Imperial Japanese Army initially planned to send more than 70,000 troops to occupy Siberia as far west as Lake Baikal . The army general staff came to view the Tsarist collapse as an opportunity to free Japan from any future threat from Russia by detaching Siberia and forming an independent buffer state. The plan was scaled back considerably due to opposition from
3900-921: The Dagu forts near Tianjin. Four days later, the Qing court declared war on the foreign powers. The British, in light of the precarious situation, were compelled to ask Japan for additional reinforcements, as the Japanese had the only readily available forces in the region. Britain at the time was heavily engaged in the Boer War , and, consequently, a large part of the British army was tied down in South Africa. Deploying large numbers of troops from British garrisons in India would take too much time and weaken internal security there. Overriding personal doubts, Foreign Minister Aoki Shūzō calculated that
4056-526: The French military mission to Japan (1918–19) , headed by Commandant Jacques-Paul Faure , was requested to assist in the development of the Japanese air services. The Japanese invasion of Taiwan under Qing rule in 1874 was a punitive expedition by Japanese military forces in response to the Mudan Incident of December 1871. The Paiwan people , who are indigenous peoples of Taiwan, murdered 54 crewmembers of
4212-670: The German General Staff , was established directly under the Emperor and was given broad powers for military planning and strategy. Other known foreign military consultants were Major Pompeo Grillo from the Kingdom of Italy , who worked at the Osaka foundry from 1884 to 1888, followed by Major Quaratezi from 1889 to 1890; and Captain Schermbeck from the Netherlands, who worked on improving coastal defenses from 1883 to 1886. Japan did not use foreign military advisors between 1890 and 1918, until
4368-670: The Korean War (1950–53), the government of the People's Republic of China used records of the International Committee to portray its members as part of a propaganda campaign to arouse patriotic anti-American fervor. As part of this propaganda campaign, the Westerners who remained in Nanjing were characterized as foreigners who sacrificed Chinese lives in order to protect their property, guided
4524-581: The Moscow -backed Far Eastern Republic . The continued Japanese presence concerned the United States, which suspected that Japan had territorial designs on Siberia and the Russian Far East . Subjected to intense diplomatic pressure by the United States and Great Britain, and facing increasing domestic opposition due to the economic and human cost, the administration of Prime Minister Katō Tomosaburō withdrew
4680-530: The Nanjing Massacre being the most well known example. Other war crimes committed by the Imperial Japanese Army included rape and forced prostitution , death marches , using biological warfare against civilians, and the execution of prisoners of war. Such atrocities throughout the war caused tens of millions of deaths. Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution renounced the right to use force as
4836-623: The Neutrality Act of 1937 to the "China Incident," which would have made it illegal for any American business to sell war materials to Japan. For example, a letter of Searle Bates to the American Consul in January 1938 explained how the Safety Zone had been "tenaciously maintained" and needed help "amid dishonor by soldiers, murdering, wounding, wholesale raping, resulting in violent terror." In
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4992-869: The Nuremberg Charter . The Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal was composed of judges, prosecutors, and staff from eleven countries that had fought against Japan: Australia , Canada , China , France , India , the Netherlands , New Zealand , the Philippines , the Soviet Union , the United Kingdom , and the United States ; the defense consisted of Japanese and American lawyers. The Tokyo Trial exercised broader temporal jurisdiction than its counterpart in Nuremberg, beginning from
5148-554: The Second Sino-Japanese War , in 1937. As war approached, the Imperial Army's influence with the Emperor waned and the influence of the Imperial Japanese Navy increased. Nevertheless, by 1938 the Army had been expanded to 34 divisions. From 1932 to 1945 the Empire of Japan and the Soviet Union had a series of conflicts . Japan had set its military sights on Soviet territory as a result of
5304-632: The Yalta Conference , Stalin agreed to declare war on Japan; and on August 5, 1945, the Soviet Union voided their neutrality agreement with Japan. In 1941, the Imperial Japanese Army had 51 divisions and various special-purpose artillery, cavalry, anti-aircraft, and armored units with a total of 1,700,000 people. At the beginning of the Second World War , most of the Japanese Army (27 divisions)
5460-461: The siege of the diplomatic legations in Beijing . An international force consisting of British , French , Russian , German , Italian , Austro-Hungarian , American , and Japanese troops was eventually assembled to relieve the legations. The Japanese provided the largest contingent of troops, 20,840, as well as 18 warships. A small, hastily assembled, vanguard force of about 2,000 troops, under
5616-399: The "best" or most authentic evidence must be produced (for example, a map instead of a description of the map; an original instead of a copy; and a witness instead of a description of what the witness may have said). Justice Pal, one of two justices to vote for acquittal on all counts, observed, "in a proceeding where we had to allow the prosecution to bring in any amount of hearsay evidence, it
5772-453: The 1890s, the Imperial Japanese Army had grown to become the most modern army in Asia: well-trained, well-equipped, and with good morale. However, it was basically an infantry force deficient in cavalry and artillery when compared with its European contemporaries. Artillery pieces, which were purchased from America and a variety of European nations, presented two problems: they were scarce, and
5928-399: The 1990s. By the time it adjourned on November 12, 1948, two defendants had died of natural causes and one, Shūmei Ōkawa , was ruled unfit to stand trial. All remaining defendants were found guilty of at least one count, of whom seven were sentenced to death and sixteen to life imprisonment. Thousands of other "lesser" war criminals were tried by domestic tribunals convened across Asia and
6084-548: The Allied Council to act as official witnesses. Sixteen defendants were sentenced to life imprisonment. Three (Koiso, Shiratori, and Umezu) died in prison, while the other thirteen were paroled between 1952 and 1958: The verdict and sentences of the tribunal were confirmed by MacArthur on November 24, 1948, two days after a perfunctory meeting with members of the Allied Control Commission for Japan , who acted as
6240-690: The Allied powers agreed to release the last of the convicted major war criminals from captivity. More than 5,700 lower-ranking personnel were charged with conventional war crimes in separate trials convened by Australia , China , France , the Netherlands Indies , the Philippines , the United Kingdom , and the United States . The charges covered a wide range of crimes including prisoner abuse, rape, sexual slavery, torture, ill-treatment of laborers, execution without trial, and inhumane medical experiments. The trials took place in around fifty locations in Asia and
6396-606: The Allies established three broad categories: The indictment accused the defendants of promoting a scheme of conquest that: [C]ontemplated and carried out ... murdering, maiming and ill-treating prisoners of war (and) civilian internees ... forcing them to labor under inhumane conditions ... plundering public and private property , wantonly destroying cities , towns and villages beyond any justification of military necessity ; (perpetrating) mass murder , rape , pillage, brigandage , torture and other barbaric cruelties upon
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6552-800: The Chinese left Asan prior. However, when on 16 July, 8,000 Chinese troops landed near the entrance of the Taedong River to reinforce Chinese troops garrisoned in Pyongyang , the Japanese delivered Li Hongzhang an ultimatum, threatening to take action if any further troops were sent to Korea. Consequently, General Oshima in Seoul and commanders of the Japanese warships in Korean waters received orders allowing them to initiate military operations if any more Chinese troops were sent to Korea. Despite this ultimatum, Li, considered that Japanese were bluffing and were trying to probe
6708-526: The Chinese readiness to make concessions. He decided, therefore to reinforce Chinese forces in Asan with a further 2,500 troops, 1,300 of which arrived in Asan during the night of July 23–24. At the same time, in the early morning of July 23, the Japanese had taken control of the Royal Palace in Seoul and imprisoned King Gojong , forcing him to renounce ties with China. During the almost two-month interval prior to
6864-546: The Donghak Peasant Revolution would lead to Chinese intervention in Korea. As a result, soon after learning word about the Korean government's request for Chinese military help, immediately ordered all warships in the vicinity to be sent to Pusan and Chemulpo . On June 9, a formation of 420 rikusentai , selected from the crews of the Japanese warships was immediately dispatched to Seoul, where they served temporarily as
7020-734: The Far East ( IMTFE ), also known as the Tokyo Trial and the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal , was a military trial convened on 29 April 1946 to try leaders of the Empire of Japan for their crimes against peace , conventional war crimes , and crimes against humanity , leading up to and during the Second World War . The IMTFE was modeled after the International Military Tribunal (IMT) at Nuremberg , Germany , which prosecuted
7176-415: The Imperial Japanese Army received a rather meagre salary; however, the cost of living in Japan was also cheaper than in most Western nations. The below table gives figures from December 1941, when one Japanese yen was worth approximately $ 0.23. For comparison, in 1942, an American private was paid approximately $ 50 per month (or 204 yen), meaning the lowest ranking soldier in the United States military
7332-399: The Imperial Japanese Army was involved was the careful and well executed attack on the German concession of Qingdao in 1914 and the seizure of various other small German islands and colonies. During 1917–18, Japan continued to extend its influence and privileges in China via the Nishihara Loans . During the Siberian Intervention , following the collapse of the Russian Empire after
7488-457: The International Military Tribunal for the Far East, as the United States believed it needed him to maintain order in Japan and achieve their postwar objectives. The prosecution began opening statements on May 3, 1946, and took 192 days to present its case, finishing on January 24, 1947. It submitted its evidence in fifteen phases. The Tribunal embraced the best evidence rule once the Prosecution had rested. The best evidence rule dictates that
7644-443: The Japanese Army abated, the International Committee for the Nanking Safety Zone was reorganized as the Nanking International Relief Committee , which did humanitarian work in Nanjing until at least 1941. There are no records of any activity by the committee after 1941 and it is believed that it was likely forced to discontinue its operations after the United States entered World War II . The Westerners who remained behind established
7800-451: The Japanese forces in October 1922. In the 1920s the Imperial Japanese Army expanded rapidly and by 1927 had a force of 300,000 men. Unlike western countries, the Army enjoyed a great deal of independence from government. Under the provisions of the Meiji Constitution , the War Minister was held accountable only to the Emperor ( Hirohito ) himself, and not to the elected civilian government. In fact, Japanese civilian administrations needed
7956-399: The Japanese of the action. It was decided to send 2,500 men to Asan , about 70 km from the capital Seoul. The troops arrived in Asan on June 9 and were additionally reinforced by 400 more on June 25, a total of about 2,900 Chinese soldiers were at Asan. From the very outset the developments in Korea had been carefully observed in Tokyo. Japanese government had soon become convinced that
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#17328377309848112-432: The Japanese troops into the city and collaborated with them to round up prisoners of war in the refugee camps. As a result of this anti-American propaganda, a detailed study carried out by the researchers at the University of Nanking in 1962 went so far as to assert that Westerners had assisted the Japanese in executing Chinese in Nanjing. The study harshly criticized those foreigners for not having made any effort to prevent
8268-409: The Japanese, constituting slightly less than half of the assault force, accounted for almost two-thirds of the losses, 280 of 453. The Russo–Japanese War (1904–1905) was the result of tensions between Russia and Japan , grown largely out of rival imperialist ambitions toward Manchuria and Korea . The Japanese army inflicted severe losses against the Russians; however, they were not able to deal
8424-426: The Nanking Safety Zone, a score of refugee camps bordered by roads on all four sides that occupied an area of about 2 square miles (5.2 km). This is approximately 1.5 times the size of Central Park in New York. The fifteen members of the International Committee for the Nanking Safety Zone were as follows: George Ashmore Fitch, was general secretary of the "Foreign YMCA " in Shanghai, advisor to OMEA, active in
8580-600: The Pacific by Allied nations, with most concluding by 1949. Due to U.S. government intervention , the trials did not charge imperial Japanese leaders who may have been responsible for Unit 731 . The Tribunal was established to implement the Cairo Declaration , the Potsdam Declaration , the Instrument of Surrender , and the Moscow Conference . The Potsdam Declaration (July 1945) had stated, "stern justice shall be meted out to all war criminals, including those who have visited cruelties upon our prisoners," though it did not specifically foreshadow trials. The terms of reference for
8736-545: The Pacific. Most trials were completed by 1949, but Australia held some trials in 1951. China held 13 tribunals, resulting in 504 convictions and 149 executions. Of the 5,700 Japanese individuals indicted for Class B war crimes, 984 were sentenced to death; 475 received life sentences; 2,944 were given more limited prison terms; 1,018 were acquitted; and 279 were never brought to trial or not sentenced. The Soviet Union and Chinese Communist forces also held trials of Japanese war criminals. The Khabarovsk War Crime Trials held by
8892-690: The Soviets tried and found guilty some members of Japan's bacteriological and chemical warfare unit, also known as Unit 731 . However, those who surrendered to the Americans were never brought to trial. As Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers , MacArthur gave immunity to Shiro Ishii and all members of the bacteriological research units in exchange for germ warfare data based on human experimentation . On May 6, 1947, he wrote to Washington that "additional data, possibly some statements from Ishii probably can be obtained by informing Japanese involved that information will be retained in intelligence channels and will not be employed as 'War Crimes' evidence." The deal
9048-433: The Tokyo Trial proposed to do. The defense attacked the notion of negative criminality, by which the defendants were to be tried for failing to prevent breaches of law and war crimes by others, as likewise having no basis in international law. The defense argued that Allied Powers' violations of international law should be examined. Former Foreign Minister Shigenori Tōgō maintained that Japan had had no choice but to enter
9204-431: The Tokyo tribunal commenced, MacArthur's highest subordinates were working to attribute ultimate responsibility for Pearl Harbor to Hideki Tōjō ." According to a written report by Shūichi Mizota, Admiral Mitsumasa Yonai 's interpreter, Fellers met the two men at his office on March 6, 1946, and told Yonai, "It would be most convenient if the Japanese side could prove to us that the emperor is completely blameless. I think
9360-514: The Tribunal were set out in the IMTFE Charter, issued on January 19, 1946. There was major disagreement, both among the Allies and within their administrations, about whom to try and how to try them. Despite the lack of consensus, General Douglas MacArthur , the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers , decided to initiate arrests. On September 11, a week after the surrender, he ordered the arrest of 39 suspects—most of them members of General Hideki Tojo 's war cabinet. Tojo tried to commit suicide but
9516-418: The United Kingdom, by any standards, despite being widely considered a "first rate" or professional fighting force, men serving in the IJA were very poorly compensated. Complicating matters further was that, by 1942, most Japanese soldiers were paid using the Japanese military yen (JMY), an unsupported currency that could not be redeemed for the regular Japanese yen. In territories under Japanese occupation,
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#17328377309849672-447: The United States and its allied coalition partners withdrew from Vladivostok , after the capture and execution of the White Army leader, Admiral Kolchak, by the Red Army. However, the Japanese decided to stay, primarily due to fears of the spread of communism so close to Japan and Japanese-controlled Korea . The Japanese Army provided military support to the Japanese-backed Provisional Priamurye Government , based in Vladivostok, against
9828-468: The United States sent forces to Siberia to bolster the armies of the White movement leader Admiral Aleksandr Kolchak against the Bolshevik Red Army . Once the political decision had been reached, the Imperial Japanese Army took over full control under Chief of Staff General Yui Mitsue ; and by November 1918, more than 70,000 Japanese troops had occupied all ports and major towns in the Russian Maritime Provinces and eastern Siberia. In June 1920,
9984-450: The United States, the committee on the Far East of the Foreign Missions Conference received scores of letters from missionaries in Nanjing. After weeks of consideration, they decided to release the letters in February 1938 despite the possible adverse effect on the Christian movement in Japan, which led to the eventual publication of their letters in some magazines such as Reader's Digest in mid-1938. George A. Fitch succeeded in smuggling
10140-453: The United States. In July 1918, the U.S. President , Woodrow Wilson , asked the Japanese government to supply 7,000 troops as part of an international coalition of 24,000 troops to support the American Expeditionary Force Siberia . After a heated debate in the Diet , the government of Prime Minister Terauchi Masatake agreed to send 12,000 troops, but under the command of Japan, rather than as part of an international coalition. Japan and
10296-445: The Westerners formed a committee: the International Committee for the Nanking Safety Zone. German businessman John Rabe was elected as its leader, partly because of his status as a member of the Nazi party , and the existence of the German–Japanese bilateral Anti-Comintern Pact . Rabe and other refugees from foreign countries tried to protect the civilians from being killed by the Japanese. The Japanese army did not completely respect
10452-543: The Zone found ways to provide these refugees with the basic needs of food, shelter, and medical care. Whenever Japanese soldiers entered the Zone, they were closely shadowed by one of the Westerners. The Westerners repeatedly refused to comply with demands made of them by Japanese Army soldiers, placing themselves between Japanese soldiers and Chinese civilians. Committee members frequently contacted Consul-General Okazaki Katsuo , Second Secretary (later Acting Consul-General) Fukui Kiyoshi and Attaché Fukuda Tokuyasu to deal with
10608-591: The above letter of the German Emperor, it is the decision coming from the Allied powers to use the bomb", adding that "Future generations will judge this dire decision". Pal was the only judge to argue for the acquittal of all of the defendants. The Japanese emperor Hirohito and other members of the imperial family might have been regarded as potential suspects. They included career officer Prince Yasuhiko Asaka , Prince Fushimi Hiroyasu , Prince Higashikuni , and Prince Takeda . Herbert Bix explained, "The Truman Administration and General MacArthur both believed
10764-596: The accused knew that troops were committing atrocities; and the accused had power or authority to stop the crimes. Part of Article 13 of the Charter provided that evidence against the accused could include any document "without proof of its issuance or signature" as well as diaries, letters, press reports, and sworn or unsworn out-of-court statements relating to the charges. Article 13 of the Charter read, in part: "The tribunal shall not be bound by technical rules of evidence ... and shall admit any evidence which it deems to have probative value. The prosecution argued that
10920-478: The advantages of participating in an allied coalition were too attractive to ignore. Prime Minister Yamagata likewise concurred, but others in the cabinet demanded that there be guarantees from the British in return for the risks and costs of a major deployment of Japanese troops. On July 6, the 5th Infantry Division was alerted for possible deployment to China, but without a timetable being set. Two days later, on July 8, with more ground troops urgently needed to lift
11076-411: The anarchic situation. Miner Searle Bates was one of the leaders of the committee and worked to secure the safety of the population of Nanjing . This task was dangerous and his life was put at risk on many occasions, most notably when he was shoved down a flight of stairs by Japanese military police after inquiring about the fate of a student who had been abducted by Japanese soldiers. According to
11232-492: The armed forces. In 1931, the Imperial Japanese Army had an overall strength of 198,880 officers and men, organized into 17 divisions. The Manchurian incident , as it became known in Japan, was a pretended sabotage of a local Japanese-owned railway, an attack staged by Japan but blamed on Chinese dissidents. Action by the military, largely independent of the civilian leadership, led to the invasion of Manchuria in 1931 and, later, to
11388-475: The army numbered approximately 17,900 from a population of 35 million at the time; it doubled to about 33,000 in 1875. The conscription program slowly built up the numbers. Public unrest began in 1874, reaching the apex in the Satsuma Rebellion of 1877, which used the slogans, "oppose conscription", "oppose elementary schools", and "fight Korea". It took a year for the new army to crush the uprising, but
11544-471: The army would undertake immediate landings on the coast between Shanhaiguan and Tianjin, and advance to the Zhili plain in order to defeat the main Chinese forces and bring the war to a swift conclusion. If neither side gained control of the sea and supremacy, the army would concentrate on the occupation of Korea and exclude Chinese influence there. Lastly, if the navy was defeated and consequently lost command of
11700-416: The army, those who failed the exam were excused from all examinations except for the national guard. Recruits who passed entered the draft lottery, where some were selected for active duty. A smaller group would be selected for replacement duty ( hojū-eki ) should anything happen to any of the active duty soldiers; the rest were dismissed. One of the primary differences between the samurai and the peasant class
11856-400: The campaign, the imperial government established logistical relay stations along three major highways. These small depots held stockpiled material supplied by local pro-government domains, or confiscated from the bakufu and others opposing the imperial government. Local villagers were routinely impressed as porters to move and deliver supplies between the depots and frontline units. Initially,
12012-402: The cause – such as Tottori ( Inaba ) , Aki ( Hiroshima ) , and Hizen ( Saga ) – emerged to take a more active role in military operations. Western domains that had either supported the shogunate or remained neutral also quickly announced their support of the restoration movement. The nascent Meiji state required a new military command for its operations against
12168-476: The city. The allies then consolidated and awaited the remainder of the 5th Division and other coalition reinforcements. In early August, the expedition pushed towards the capital where on August 14, it lifted the Boxer siege. By that time, the 13,000-strong Japanese force was the largest single contingent, making up about 40 percent of the approximately 33,000 strong allied expeditionary force. Japanese troops involved in
12324-526: The command of British Admiral Edward Seymour, departed by rail, from Tianjin, for the legations in early June. On June 12, mixed Boxer and Chinese regular army forces halted the advance, some 30 miles from the capital. The road-bound and badly outnumbered allies withdrew to the vicinity of Tianjin , having suffered more than 300 casualties. The army general staff in Tokyo became aware of the worsening conditions in China and had drafted ambitious contingency plans, but
12480-453: The conduct of air attacks, there was no positive or specific customary international humanitarian law with respect to aerial warfare before and during World War II. Ben Bruce Blakeney , an American defense counsel for Japanese defendants, argued that "[i]f the killing of Admiral Kidd by the bombing of Pearl Harbor is murder , we know the name of the very man who[se] hands loosed the atomic bomb on Hiroshima ," although Pearl Harbor
12636-575: The creation of an Imperial Guard ( Goshinpei ) of six thousand men, consisting of nine infantry battalions, two artillery batteries and two cavalry squadrons. The emperor donated 100,000 ryō to underwrite the new unit, which was subordinate to the court. It was composed of members of the Satsuma, Chōshū and Tosa domains, who had led the restoration. Satsuma provided four battalions of infantry and four artillery batteries; Chōshū provided three battalions of infantry; Tosa two battalions of infantry, two squadrons of cavalry, and two artillery batteries. For
12792-480: The crime of launching aggressive war and then validly claim to be excused for doing so because his life would otherwise have been in danger ... It will remain that the men who advised the commission of a crime, if it be one, are in no worse position than the man who directs the crime be committed." Justice Delfín Jaranilla of the Philippines disagreed with the penalties imposed by the tribunal as being "too lenient, not exemplary and deterrent, and not commensurate with
12948-450: The declaration of war, the two service staffs developed a two-stage operational plan against China. The army's 5th Division would land at Chemulpo to prevent a Chinese advance in Korea while the navy would engage the Beiyang fleet in a decisive battle in order to secure control of the seas. If the navy defeated the Chinese fleet decisively and secured command of the seas, the larger part of
13104-498: The dispensation of victors' justice. Solis Horowitz argues that IMTFE had an American bias: unlike the Nuremberg trials , there was only a single prosecution team, led by an American, although the members of the tribunal represented eleven different Allied countries. The IMTFE had less official support than the Nuremberg trials. Keenan, a former U.S. assistant attorney general, had a much lower position than Nuremberg's Robert H. Jackson ,
13260-493: The eleven justices released separate opinions outside the court. In his concurring opinion Justice William Webb of Australia took issue with Emperor Hirohito's legal status, writing, "The suggestion that the Emperor was bound to act on advice is contrary to the evidence." While refraining from personal indictment of Hirohito, Webb indicated that Hirohito bore responsibility as a constitutional monarch who accepted "ministerial and other advice for war" and that "no ruler can commit
13416-546: The encounter at Toba–Fushimi, as well as yeoman and masterless samurai from various domains. The imperial court told the domains to restrict the size of their local armies and to contribute to funding a national officers' training school in Kyoto. However, within a few months the government disbanded both the military branch and the imperial bodyguard: the former was ineffective while the latter lacked modern weaponry and equipment. To replace them, two new organizations were created. One
13572-664: The entry to the Bohai Gulf, in mid-October. While, the First Army pursued the remaining Chinese forces from Korea across the Yalu River, Second Army occupied the city of Dairen on November 8 and then seized the fortress and harbor at Port Arthur on November 25. Farther north, the First army's offensive stalled and was beset by supply problems and winter weather. In 1899–1900, Boxer attacks against foreigners in China intensified, resulting in
13728-459: The exclusion of Western colonialism and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki from the list of crimes and the lack of judges from the vanquished nations on the bench signified the "failure of the Tribunal to provide anything other than the opportunity for the victors to retaliate". In this he was not alone among Indian jurists, with one prominent [Kolkata] barrister writing that the Tribunal
13884-504: The expense of the domains advocated for the creation of a standing national army along European lines under the control of the government , the introduction of conscription for commoners and the abolition of the samurai class. Ōkubo Toshimichi preferred a small volunteer force consisting of former samurai. Ōmura's views for modernizing Japan's military led to his assassination in 1869 and his ideas were largely implemented after his death by Yamagata Aritomo . Aritomo has been described as
14040-580: The father of the Imperial Japanese Army. Yamagata had commanded mixed commoner-samurai Chōshū units during the Boshin War and was convinced of the merit of peasant soldiers. Although he himself was part of the samurai class, albeit of insignificant lower status, Yamagata distrusted the warrior class, several members of whom he regarded as clear dangers to the Meiji state. In March 1871, the War Ministry announced
14196-470: The fighting had acquitted themselves well, although a British military observer felt their aggressiveness, densely packed formations, and over-willingness to attack cost them excessive casualties. For example, during the Tianjin fighting, the Japanese, while comprising less than one quarter (3,800) of the total allied force of 17,000, suffered more than half of the casualties, 400 out of 730. Similarly at Beijing,
14352-583: The films shot by John Magee out of China when he temporarily left the country in January 1938. That year he traveled throughout the United States, giving speeches about what he witnessed in Nanjing along with the films that showed haunting images of Chinese victims. Several members of the committee took the witness stand to testify about their experiences and observations during the Nanjing Massacre . These included Robert Wilson, Miner Searle Bates and John Magee. George A. Fitch, Lewis Smythe and James McCallum filed affidavits with their diaries and letters. During
14508-400: The first time, the Meiji government was able to organize a large body of soldiers under a consistent rank and pay scheme with uniforms, which were loyal to the government rather than the domains. The Imperial Guard's principal mission was to protect the throne by suppressing domestic samurai revolts, peasant uprisings and anti-government demonstrations. The possession of this military force was
14664-410: The foreign menace, little substantive planning was directed against Russia. In February 1872, the military ministry was abolished and separate army and navy ministries were established. The conscription ordinance enacted on January 10, 1873, made universal military service compulsory for all male subjects in the country. The law called for a total of seven years of military service: three years in
14820-653: The government, in light of the Triple Intervention refused to deploy large forces unless requested by the western powers. However, three days later, the general staff did dispatch a provisional force of 1,300 troops, commanded by Major General Fukushima Yasumasa , to northern China. Fukushima was chosen because his ability to speak fluent English which enabled him to communicate with the British commander. The force landed near Tianjin on July 5. On June 17, with tensions increasing, naval Rikusentai from Japanese ships had joined British, Russian, and German sailors to seize
14976-417: The gravity of the offence or offences committed." Justice Henri Bernard of France argued that the tribunal's course of action was flawed due to Hirohito's absence and the lack of sufficient deliberation by the judges. He concluded that Japan's declaration of war "had a principal author who escaped all prosecution and of whom in any case the present Defendants could only be considered as accomplices" and that
15132-681: The hands of the aggressors. Several eyewitness accounts of the Nanjing Massacre were provided by members of the committee. The committee sent 61 letters to the Japanese Consulate which report various incidents which occurred during the period starting Dec 13, 1937 to Feb 9, 1938. These letters are quoted in H.J. Timperley's book “What war means: Japanese terror in China:” (Compiled and edited by H.J. Timperley / Victor Gollancz, July 1938). M. Searle Bates , John Magee and George Ashmore Fitch ,
15288-465: The head of YMCA at Nanjing, actively wrote of the chaotic conditions created by the Japanese troops, mimeographed or retyped their stories over and over and sent them to their friends, government officials, and Christian organizations so as to let the world, especially the American public, know what was going on in the terrorized city. They hoped that the U. S. government would intervene, or at least apply
15444-399: The helpless civilian population of the over-run countries. The chief prosecutor, Joseph B. Keenan , issued a press statement along with the indictment: "War and treaty-breakers should be stripped of the glamour of national heroes and exposed as what they really are—plain, ordinary murderers." Any possible evidence that would incriminate Emperor Hirohito and his family was excluded from
15600-478: The humanitarian work, named by John Rabe (chairman) to be director of the ICNSZ, and served as acting mayor of Nanjing after Mayor General Ma Shao-chuan turned over to him treasury resources, some police, and food stores. Most lists do not mention him as a formal member. Perhaps this is because he was elected director while he had been travelling and before he returned to Nanjing. These individuals are not to be confused with
15756-456: The immunity of the Safety Zone and soldiers would sometimes show up under dubious pretenses to take Chinese women and men into custody. There were also kidnappings of women from the Zone. Such people taken into custody would often either be summarily executed or taken away for rape. Due to Rabe's efforts some 250,000 people were protected during the Nanjing Massacre . In February 1938, as violence by
15912-643: The imperial family from being indicted, but also to skew the testimony of the defendants to ensure that no one implicated the emperor. High officials in court circles and the Japanese government collaborated with Allied GHQ in compiling lists of prospective war criminals. People arrested as Class A suspects and incarcerated in the Sugamo Prison solemnly vowed to protect their sovereign against any possible taint of war responsibility. According to historian Herbert Bix , Brigadier General Bonner Fellers "immediately on landing in Japan went to work to protect Hirohito from
16068-473: The imperial institution. Top-ranking military leaders were given direct access to the Emperor and the authority to transmit his pronouncements directly to the troops. The sympathetic relationship between conscripts and officers, particularly junior officers who were drawn mostly from the peasantry, tended to draw the military closer to the people. In time, most people came to look more for guidance in national matters more to military than to political leaders. By
16224-472: The inhabitants of occupied territories; ultimately, 45 of the counts, including all the murder charges, were ruled either redundant or not authorized under the IMTFE Charter. The Tokyo Trial lasted more than twice as long as the better-known Nuremberg trials, and its impact was similarly influential in the development of international law; similar international war crimes tribunals would not be established until
16380-566: The last holdouts but there are reports of other Japanese holdout later then December 1974. Total military in August 1945 was 6,095,000 including 676,863 Army Air Service. Over the course of the Imperial Japanese Army's existence, millions of its soldiers were either killed , wounded or listed as missing in action . International Military Tribunal for the Far East The International Military Tribunal for
16536-592: The leaders of Nazi Germany for their war crimes, crimes against peace, and crimes against humanity. Following Japan's defeat and occupation by the Allies , the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers , United States General Douglas MacArthur , issued a special proclamation establishing the IMTFE. A charter was drafted to establish the court's composition, jurisdiction, and procedures; the crimes were defined based on
16692-470: The local representatives of the nations of the Far Eastern Commission. Six of those representatives made no recommendations for clemency. Australia, Canada, India, and the Netherlands were willing to see the general make some reductions in sentences. He chose not to do so. The issue of clemency was thereafter to disturb Japanese relations with the Allied powers until the late 1950s, when a majority of
16848-416: The loose assembly of domain forces with the imperial court , which was the only national institution in a still unformed nation-state. The army continually emphasized its link with the imperial court: firstly, to legitimize its cause; secondly, to brand enemies of the imperial government as enemies of the court and traitors; and, lastly, to gain popular support. To supply food, weapons, and other supplies for
17004-585: The members of the International Red Cross Committee of Nanking , which did similar work. Its 17 members included Robert O. Wilson , an American doctor at Drum Tower Hospital of Nanking University Hospital , James McCallum, an American missionary at the same institution, and Minnie Vautrin , an American missionary at Ginling Girls' College . When Nanjing fell, the Nanking Safety Zone housed over 250,000 refugees. The committee members of
17160-517: The military and could do nothing except forward these communications through Shanghai to Tokyo. Along with John Rabe and Minnie Vautrin , Robert O. Wilson was instrumental in the establishment of the Nanking Safety Zone . He was the sole surgeon responsible for treating the victims of the ongoing atrocities. The selfless work of Dr. Wilson and his associates saved the lives of countless civilians and POWs who would have otherwise perished at
17316-439: The military yen – or "Japanese invasion money", as it came to be known by the locals – was the only legal tender in circulation. The Japanese authorities seized or ordered surrendered all other bank notes in territories under their occupation and provided compensation at an "exchange rate" as they saw fit, in the form of JMYs. This had the effect of affording Japanese soldiers in many occupied territories
17472-591: The modern army of Japan. Separately, some soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army continued to fight on isolated Pacific islands until at least the 1970s, with the last known Japanese soldier surrendering in 1974. Intelligence officer Hiroo Onoda , who surrendered on Lubang Island in the Philippines in March 1974, and Teruo Nakamura , who surrendered on the Indonesian island of Morotai in December 1974, appear to have been
17628-552: The nation depended upon the cooperation of its vassals' armies. The opening of the country after two centuries of seclusion subsequently led to the Meiji Restoration and the Boshin War in 1868. The domains of Satsuma and Chōshū came to dominate the coalition against the shogunate. On 27 January 1868, tensions between the shogunate and imperial sides came to a head when Tokugawa Yoshinobu marched on Kyoto , accompanied by
17784-628: The navy was unable to bring the Beiyang fleet into battle in mid-August, temporarily withdrew from the Yellow Sea to refit and replenish its ships. As a consequence, in late August the general staff ordered an advance overland to the Zhili plain via Korea in order to capture bases on the Liaodong Peninsula to prevent Chinese forces from interfering with the drive on Beijing. The First Army with two divisions
17940-425: The need for a strong centralized authority and although the imperial side was victorious, the early Meiji government was weak and the leaders had to maintain their standing with their domains whose military forces was essential for whatever the government needed to achieve. The leaders of the restoration were divided over the future organization of the army. Ōmura Masujirō who had sought a strong central government at
18096-527: The new army created resentment among the samurai class. Although the nascent Meiji government achieved military success, the war left a residue of disgruntled warriors and marginalized commoners, together with a torn social fabric. After the defeat of the Tokugawa shogunate and operations in Northeastern Honshu and Hokkaido a true national army did not exist. Many in the restoration coalition had recognized
18252-503: The new army fought under makeshift arrangements, with unclear channels of command and control and no reliable recruiting base. Although fighting for the imperial cause, many of the units were loyal to their domains rather than the imperial court. In March 1869, the imperial government created various administrative offices, including a military branch; and in the following month organized an imperial bodyguard of 400 to 500, which consisted of Satsuma and Chōshū troops strengthened by veterans of
18408-482: The occupation reforms would be implemented smoothly if they used Hirohito to legitimise their changes." As early as November 26, 1945, MacArthur confirmed to Admiral Mitsumasa Yonai that the emperor's abdication would not be necessary. Before the war crimes trials actually convened, SCAP, the International Prosecution Section (IPS), and court officials worked behind the scenes not only to prevent
18564-541: The ongoing atrocities. This erroneous perception of the International Committee was eventually corrected in the 1980s as more historical documents became accessible and more thorough studies were published. Today many of the missionaries' private diaries and letters that meticulously documented the scale and character of the Nanjing Massacre are archived at the Yale Divinity School Library. Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army ( IJA )
18720-450: The outcome of the naval operations. Clashes between Chinese and Japanese forces at Pungdo and Seongwhan caused irreversible changes to Sino-Japanese relations and meant that a state of war now existed between the two countries. The two governments officially declared war on August 1. Initially, the general staff's objective was to secure the Korean peninsula before the arrival of winter and then land forces near Shanhaiguan. However, as
18876-500: The pro-imperial forces officially an Imperial army. The bakufu forces eventually retreated to Osaka, with the remaining forces ordered to retreat to Edo. Yoshinobu and his closest advisors left for Edo by ship. The encounter at Toba–Fushimi between the imperial and shogunate forces marked the beginning of the conflict. With the court in Kyoto firmly behind the Satsuma-Chōshū-Tosa coalition, other domains that were sympathetic to
19032-450: The prosecution opened its case, charging the defendants with crimes against peace, conventional war crimes, and crimes against humanity. The trial continued for more than two and a half years, hearing testimony from 419 witnesses and admitting 4,336 exhibits of evidence, including depositions and affidavits from 779 other individuals. Following the model used at the Nuremberg trials in Germany,
19188-436: The provinces of Zhili , Shandong and in Manchuria, as a result of the tense situation on the Korean peninsula. These actions were planned more as an armed demonstration intended to strengthen the Chinese position in Korea, rather than as a preparation for war with Japan. On June 3, the Chinese government accepted the requests from the Korean government to send troops to help quell the rebellion, additionally they also informed
19344-431: The regular army ( jōbigun ), two years in the reserve ( dai'ichi kōbigun ), and an additional two years in the second reserve ( daini kōbigun ). All able-bodied males between the ages of 17 and 40 were considered members of the national guard ( kokumingun ), which would only see service in a severe national crisis, such as an attack or invasion of Japan. The conscription examination decided which group of recruits would enter
19500-493: The relatively small number that were available were of several different calibers , causing problems with ammunition supply. In the early months of 1894, the Donghak Peasant Revolution broke out in southern Korea and had soon spread throughout the rest of the country, threatening the Korea capital Seoul , itself. The Chinese, since the beginning of May had taken steps to prepare the mobilization of their forces in
19656-400: The role he had played during and at the end of the war" and "allowed the major criminal suspects to coordinate their stories so that the emperor would be spared from indictment." Bix also argues that "MacArthur's truly extraordinary measures to save Hirohito from trial as a war criminal had a lasting and profoundly distorting impact on Japanese understanding of the lost war" and "months before
19812-414: The sea, Japanese forces in Korea would be ordered to hang on and fight a rearguard action while the bulk of the army would remain in Japan in preparation to repel a Chinese invasion. This worst-case scenario also foresaw attempts to rescue the beleaguered 5th Division in Korea while simultaneously strengthening homeland defenses. The army's contingency plans which were both offensive and defensive, depended on
19968-594: The shogunate. In 1868, the "Imperial Army" being just a loose amalgam of domain armies, the government created four military divisions: the Tōkaidō , Tōsandō , San'indō , and Hokurikudō , each of which was named for a major highway. Overseeing these four armies was a new high command, the Eastern Expeditionary High Command ( Tōsei daisō tokufu ), whose nominal head was prince Arisugawa-no-miya , with two court nobles as senior staff officers. This connected
20124-526: The siege of the foreign legations at Beijing, the British ambassador offered the Japanese government one million British pounds in exchange for Japanese participation. Shortly afterward, advance units of the 5th Division departed for China, bringing Japanese strength to 3,800 personnel, of the then-17,000 allied force. The commander of the 5th Division, Lt. General Yamaguchi Motoomi, had taken operational control from Fukushima. A second, stronger allied expeditionary army stormed Tianjin , on July 14, and occupied
20280-529: The support of the Army in order to survive. The Army controlled the appointment of the War Minister, and in 1936 a law was passed that stipulated that only an active duty general or lieutenant-general could hold the post. As a result, military spending as a proportion of the national budget rose disproportionately in the 1920s and 1930s, and various factions within the military exerted disproportionate influence on Japanese foreign policy. The Imperial Japanese Army
20436-418: The testimony of Bates before the International Military Tribunal for the Far East , he visited the Japanese embassy daily for the next three weeks after first protesting there against Japanese atrocities. He testified that the Japanese authorities appeared to him to be "honestly trying to do what little they could in a bad situation". However, as Bates testified, the embassy officials were themselves terrified by
20592-590: The third French military mission to Japan (1884–89) . However, after France's defeat in 1871 the Japanese government switched to the victorious Germans as a model. From 1886 to April 1890, it hired German military advisors (Major Jakob Meckel , replaced in 1888 by von Wildenbrück and Captain von Blankenbourg) to assist in the training of the Japanese General Staff. In 1878, the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office, based on
20748-542: The third agency with oversight of the IJA. At its height, the IJA was one of the most influential factions in the politics of Japan . In the mid-19th century, Japan had no unified national army and the country was made up of feudal domains ( han ) with the Tokugawa shogunate ( bakufu ) in overall control, which had ruled Japan since 1603. The bakufu army, although a large force, was only one among others, and bakufu efforts to control
20904-427: The time. Wartime press releases of the Allies offered as evidence by the prosecution were admitted, while those sought to be entered by the defense were excluded. The recollection of a conversation with a long-dead man was admitted. Letters allegedly written by Japanese citizens were admitted with no proof of authenticity and no opportunity for cross examination by the defense. The defendants were represented by over
21060-566: The tribunal was to function. The charter generally followed the model set by the Nuremberg trials . On April 25, in accordance with the provisions of Article 7 of the CIMTFE, the original Rules of Procedure of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East with amendments were promulgated. Following months of preparation, the IMTFE convened on April 29, 1946. The trials were held in the War Ministry office in Tokyo. On May 3
21216-430: The undefined concepts of conspiracy and aggressive war, had yet to be established as crimes in international law ; in effect, the IMTFE was contradicting accepted legal procedure by trying the defendants retroactively for violating laws which had not existed when the alleged crimes had been committed . The defense insisted that there was no basis in international law for holding individuals responsible for acts of state, as
21372-462: The use of atomic bombs) weakened the tribunal's authority. Recalling a letter by Kaiser Wilhelm II signalling his determination to bring World War I to a swift conclusion through brutal means if necessary, Pal stated that "This policy of indiscriminate murder to shorten the war was considered to be a crime. In the Pacific war under our consideration, if there was anything approaching what is indicated in
21528-486: The victories proved critical in creating and stabilizing the Imperial government and to realize sweeping social, economic and political reforms that enabled Japan to become a modern state that could stand comparison to France, Germany, and other Western European powers. The early Imperial Japanese Army was developed with the assistance of advisors from France, through the second French military mission to Japan (1872–80) , and
21684-501: The war for self-defense purposes. He asserted that "[because of the Hull Note ] we felt at the time that Japan was being driven either to war or suicide". After the defense had finished its presentation on September 9, 1947, the IMT spent fifteen months reaching judgement and drafting its 1,781-page opinion. The reading of the judgement and the sentences lasted from December 4 to 12, 1948. Five of
21840-492: The wealthier domains and, in June, the organization of the army was fixed, where each domain was required to send ten men for each 10,000 koku of rice produced. However, this policy put the imperial government in direct competition with the domains for military recruitment, which was not rectified until April 1868, when the government banned the domains from enlisting troops. Consequently, the quota system never fully worked as intended and
21996-469: The wealthy. Under the new 1873 ordinance, the conscript army was composed mainly of second and third sons of impoverished farmers who manned the regional garrisons, while former samurai controlled the Imperial Guard and the Tokyo garrison. Initially, because of the army's small size and numerous exemptions, relatively few young men were actually conscripted for a three-year term on active duty. In 1873,
22152-471: Was abolished the following year. The Imperial forces encountered numerous difficulties during the war, especially during the campaign in Eastern Japan. Headquarters in faraway Kyoto often proposed plans at odds with the local conditions, which led to tensions with officers in the field, who in many cases ignored centralized direction in favor of unilateral action. The army lacked a strong central staff that
22308-524: Was activated on September 1. In mid-September 17, the Chinese forces defeated at Pyongyang and occupied the city, as the remaining Chinese troops retreated northward. The navy's stunning victory in the Yalu on September 17, was crucial to the Japanese as it allowed the Second Army with three divisions and one brigade to land unopposed on the Liaodong Peninsula about 100 miles north of Port Arthur which controlled
22464-488: Was capable of enforcing orders. Consequently, military units were at the mercy of individual commanders' leadership and direction. This was not helped by the absence of a unified tactical doctrine, which left units to fight according to the tactics favored by their respective commanders. There was increased resentment by many lower ranked commanders as senior army positions were monopolized by the nobility together with samurai from Chōshū and Satsuma. The use of commoners within
22620-644: Was classified as a war crime under the 1907 Hague Convention , as it happened without a declaration of war and without a just cause for self-defense . Similarly, the indiscriminate bombing of Chinese cities by Japanese Imperial forces was never raised in the Tokyo Trials in fear of America being accused of the same thing for its air attacks on Japanese cities. As a result, Japanese pilots and officers were not prosecuted for their aerial raids on Pearl Harbor and cities in China and other Asian countries. Indian jurist Radhabinod Pal raised substantive objections in
22776-401: Was concluded in 1948. The United States had provided the funds and staff necessary for running the Tribunal and also held the function of Chief Prosecutor. The argument was made that it was difficult, if not impossible, to uphold the requirement of impartiality with which such an organ should be invested. This apparent conflict gave the impression that the tribunal was no more than a means for
22932-432: Was earning equivalent to the maximum salary of an Imperial Japanese major, or the base salary of an Imperial Japanese lieutenant colonel, and about 25 times as much as an Imperial Japanese soldier of the same rank. While disproportionate salary ranges were not uncommon between militaries during World War II, for example Australian enlistees could expect to receive roughly triple as much in pay as their counterparts fighting for
23088-408: Was little more than "a sword in a [judge's] wig." Justice Röling stated, "[o]f course, in Japan we were all aware of the bombings and the burnings of Tokyo and Yokohama and other big cities . It was horrible that we went there for the purpose of vindicating the laws of war, and yet saw every day how the Allies had violated them dreadfully." However, in respect to Pal and Röling's statement about
23244-452: Was originally known simply as the Army ( rikugun ) but after 1928, as part of the Army's turn toward romantic nationalism and also in the service of its political ambitions, it re-titled itself the Imperial Army ( kōgun ). In 1923, the army consisted of 21 divisions, but in accordance with the 1924 reform it was reduced to 17 divisions. Two leaps in the development of the military industry (1906–1910 and 1931–1934) made it possible to re-equip
23400-453: Was resuscitated with the help of U.S. physicians. On January 19, 1946, MacArthur issued a special proclamation ordering the establishment of an International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE). On the same day, he also approved the Charter of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East (CIMTFE), which prescribed how it was to be formed, the crimes that it was to consider, and how
23556-453: Was sentenced to death by hanging for war crimes and crimes against humanity (Class B and Class C): The seven defendants who were sentenced to death were executed at Sugamo Prison in Ikebukuro on December 23, 1948. MacArthur, afraid of embarrassing and antagonizing the Japanese people, defied the wishes of President Truman and barred photography of any kind, instead bringing in four members of
23712-425: Was somewhat misplaced caution to introduce this best evidence rule particularly when it operated practically against the defense only". The prosecution team relied on the doctrine of command responsibility , which obviated the need to prove the various alleged atrocities were the result of the defendants' illegal orders. The prosecution instead had to prove three things: that war crimes were systematic or widespread;
23868-503: Was stationed in China. A further 13 divisions defended the Mongolian border, due to concerns about a possible attack by the Soviet Union. From 1942, soldiers were sent to Hong Kong (23rd Army), the Philippines (14th Army), Thailand (15th Army), Burma (15th Army), Dutch East Indies (16th Army), and Malaya (25th Army). By 1945, there were 6 million soldiers in the Imperial Japanese Army. From 1943, Japanese troops suffered from
24024-439: Was the military affairs directorate which was composed of two bureaus, one for the army and one for the navy. The directorate drafted an army from troop contributions from each domain proportional to each domain's annual rice production ( koku ) . This conscript army ( chōheigun ) integrated samurai and commoners from various domains into its ranks. As the war continued, the military affairs directorate expected to raise troops from
24180-673: Was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan . Forming one of the military branches of the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces (IJAF), it was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Army Ministry , both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor of Japan , the supreme commander of IJAF. During the 20th century, an Inspectorate General of Aviation became
24336-421: Was the right to bear arms; this ancient privilege was suddenly extended to every male in the nation. There were several exemptions, including criminals, those who could show hardship, the physically unfit, heads of households or heirs, students, government bureaucrats, and teachers. A conscript could also purchase an exemption for ¥ 270, which was an enormous sum for the time and which restricted this privilege to
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