International Military Tribunal for the Far East

execution would mean death sentences without a trial. In the end, it was decided that a criminal trial would be more effective. Doing a criminal trial would require documentation and prevent later accusations of unfair rulings. “The Allies eventually established the laws and procedures for the Nuremberg trials with the London Charter of the International Military Tribunal (IMT), issued on August 8, 1945. Among other things, the charter defined three categories of crimes: crimes against peace (including planning, preparing, starting or waging wars of aggression or wars in violation of international agreements), war crimes (including violations of customs or laws of war, including improper treatment of civilians and prisoners of war) and crimes against humanity (including murder, enslavement or deportation of civilians or persecution on political, religious or racial grounds). It was determined that civilian officials as well as military officers could be accused of war crimes.” These were some of the guidelines that this case, and future cases to come, would follow throughout the proceedings. The trial was presented before the American Military Tribunal number 1, in Nuremberg, it began on December 9th of 1946 and continued on until August 20th, 1947. During this time span, twenty three leading German physicians and administrators were tried for their willing participation in war crimes and crimes against humanity. Chief of Counsel, Brigadier General Telford Taylor gave his…

Tokyo Tribunal The International Tribunal for the Far East (Tokyo Tribunal), on the other hand, did convict Japanese war criminals on charges of rape. However, it stopped short of considering the military sexual slavery of comfort women . In the case before the Tokyo Tribunal , General Matsui Iwane was indicted for charges that included “mass murder, rape, pillage…”, as he had been the commander-in-Chief of the Japanese Forces, and was commander of Japan’s Central China Expeditionary Force.…

There were seven principles to help define war crimes. One of the principles stated that any person who commits a crime under the international criminal law can be punished. Another principle stated that just because the internal law of a country does not punish for an international crime does not exempt the individual from international punishment. In the Nuremberg Trials, the war crimes in Germany committed by many Nazi officers were not crimes in their country at the time but they were…

1.1 Background The need for an international criminal court came about by the fact that international community did not have adequate instruments to punish those who committed serious international crimes. Abuse of human rights law at the international level went unpunished due to the lack of legal structure and therefore punishment for these international crimes was left to domestic courts. The problem with the domestic courts was that they were used as agents of the criminals. They were…

Textbook A is the “New History Textbook” published by Fusosha, a Japanese publishing company, in 2005. This can be inferred based on the excerpt of Textbook A, which notably avoids the use of words with strong imagery - such as ‘massacre’ - in describing the event. The only comment on how “the Japanese military killed and wounded many Chinese soldiers and civilians” was made in passing as part of the footnotes, and its mention was accompanied with a note that stressed how “historical facts” are…

It also analyzes the history some people have distorted for over half a century. The book is divided into two parts. In the first part, the author starts with the spiritual character of Bushido in Japan and analyzes Japan's forced opening to the outside world. From the Meiji Reform to the prosperity of the rich countries, from the external expansion to the sweetness of the international exclusion, From the earthquake disaster to the economic crisis and from the reasons for the invasion and…

Chiang Kai-shek shortage is illustrated by the fact that in 1941 there were only 800 artillery pieces in the entire Chinese Army. (“Chinese Nationalist Army”) Rape of Nanking: The weapons used in war must discriminate between combatants and non-combatants. Civilians are never permissible targets of war, and every effort must be taken to avoid killing civilians. The deaths of civilians are justified only if they are unavoidable victims of a deliberate attack on a military target. Rape of Nanking…

disputes? The South China Sea is intentionally sited. It is sited in a way that it overlaps the main lanes of the sea between Asia, Middle East and the Europe. It becomes the main international way for sea trade and transportation, where most of the world’s largest traffic passes. As a global concern, the geopolitical and economic importance of the South China Sea lessens the secure navigation of tanks in water. The region plays a strategic maritime and military role in keeping the security…

Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an International Non-Governmental Organization (INGO) that, according to their website (Human Rights Watch, n.d.-a), is “known for its accurate fact-finding, impartial reporting, effective use of media, and targeted advocacy, often in partnership with local human rights groups.” HRW publishes over 100 reports and briefings annually on over 90 countries’ human rights conditions (Human Rights Watch, n.d.-a). HRW’s mission is simple: “[to defend] the rights of people…

During World War II, over 200,000 women in East Asia were victims of human trafficking and exploited for the Imperial Armed Force’s personal use[i]. Over 80% of the trafficked women during World War II were Korean. Since the late 1800’s, the Japanese army has utilized prostitution and Comfort Stations as a method of reducing rape during times of war. Shortly after the Nanjing Massacre 1937, the Japanese Army became aggressive in the recruitment of women. Despite the Japanese Army’s Comfort…