29 min
No Specific and Tangible Evidence "To the Best of My Ability"
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- History
In a January 25, 1946 telegram, General Douglas MacArthur recommended that Hirohito not face a war crimes trial. The International Military Tribunal for the Far East, also known as the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal, tried 28 Japanese military and political leaders on 55 separate counts encompassing the waging of aggressive war, murder and conventional war crimes committed against POW’s, civilians, and inhabitants of occupied territories. The defendants included former prime ministers, former foreign ministers, and former military commanders. The emperor was not among them: to MacArthur, he was a valuable symbol of Japanese national unity. As long as he agreed to cooperate, he was useful to the American occupation authorities.
In a January 25, 1946 telegram, General Douglas MacArthur recommended that Hirohito not face a war crimes trial. The International Military Tribunal for the Far East, also known as the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal, tried 28 Japanese military and political leaders on 55 separate counts encompassing the waging of aggressive war, murder and conventional war crimes committed against POW’s, civilians, and inhabitants of occupied territories. The defendants included former prime ministers, former foreign ministers, and former military commanders. The emperor was not among them: to MacArthur, he was a valuable symbol of Japanese national unity. As long as he agreed to cooperate, he was useful to the American occupation authorities.
29 min