Tokyo 1946: the war crime trial that shaped Japan's future

In 1946, as Japan stood in ruins at the end of the Second World War, an international trial was launched in Tokyo. It was a mammoth legal and political undertaking that lasted more than two years, as top Japanese leaders were tried by a panel of 11 international judges for war crimes, crimes against humanity and crimes against peace. Historian Gary Bass is the author of the Cundill History Prize-shortlisted book on the trials, Judgement at Tokyo. As he tells Ellie Cawthorne, it wasn't just the fates of the defendants that were on line – but also Japan's reputation on the global stage.

(Ad) Gary Bass is the author of Judgment at Tokyo: World War II on Trial and the Making of Modern Asia (Knopf Publishing Group, 2023). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stone-Circles-Field-Guide/dp/0300235984/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty.

Hear our podcast with Tobias Buck on a 21st-century Holocaust trial here: https://link.chtbl.com/k2HY09Zq

The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.

To find out more about the Cundill History Prize and the books shortlisted in 2024, head to www.cundillprize.com

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