People's Daily publishes article: The Tokyo Trials are irrefutable, how can they be overturned

Author: Fang Yuan

2026 marks the 80th anniversary of the opening of the Far Eastern International Military Tribunal. From 1946 to 1948, the Far Eastern International Military Tribunal held collective trials in Tokyo, Japan, for Japanese Class A war criminals involved in World War II (also known as the Tokyo Trial). This was the second large-scale, multi-national war crimes trial in human history, following the Nuremberg Trials. Over two and a half years of court proceedings, 11 judges from different countries convicted all 25 defendants, with seven war criminals, including Hideki Tojo, sentenced to death by hanging; 16 war criminals received life imprisonment; and two others received fixed-term sentences.

The Tokyo Trial can be regarded as an unprecedented century-defining trial. With 818 court sessions, 419 witnesses, 4,336 pieces of evidence, and over 48k pages of trial records, the tribunal documented the darkest memories of human history’s invasion and aggression with irrefutable evidence. During the trial, heinous crimes such as the Nanjing Massacre and the Bataan Death March were made public, and the systematic exposure and reckoning of Japan’s fascist aggression and war crimes were achieved.

The historical significance of the Tokyo Trial is profound and fundamental. Alongside the Nuremberg Trials, it was the first time in human history that international judicial practice systematically established that aggressive war is an international crime. It clarified that national leaders must bear personal criminal responsibility for initiating aggressive wars, sending a clear signal to the world that “aggression will be punished, and atrocities will be brought to justice.” It made peace, justice, and humanity the core values of the post-war order, laying an important legal and political foundation for the international order after the war. Over 80 years, the Tokyo Trial has transcended its historical context to become a symbol of justice, a solid record of history, a cornerstone of legal principles, and a warning for peace.

However, because the Tokyo Trial occurred at the beginning of the Cold War, many Japanese war criminals escaped proper punishment, and the roots of Japanese militarism were not fully eradicated. The war responsibilities of the Japanese emperor were exempted, war criminals like Nobusuke Kishi were released, and the crimes of Unit 731’s live human experiments and biological warfare were also protected. These unresolved historical issues allowed Japanese right-wing forces to persist and gradually grow stronger, leading to the spread of historical revisionism.

In the past 80 years, Japanese right-wing forces have never ceased to deny or revise the Tokyo Trial. From subtle doubts in the early post-war period to open debates after Japan’s economic rise, and further attempts to fully overturn the verdict amid the rightward shift of Japanese politics after the Cold War, these forces have continuously blurred the responsibility for war, escaped the court’s judgment, and used fallacious arguments such as “victor’s justice” and “post-war legislation” to revise the history of aggression. They have cleared legal and public opinion obstacles to military expansion. They question whether the Tokyo Trial was a verdict made by the victorious countries, and disguise themselves as “victims,” claiming that the trial ignored Japan’s suffering from the Tokyo Bombing and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. They argue that Japan’s invasion was a “self-defense” response to sanctions from the US and UK, and continue to distort history by glorifying invasions and propagating slogans like “Great East Asia Liberation,” confusing the international community.

Today, Japan’s historical revisionism and new militarism are colluding, posing a real threat to regional peace and stability. Several Japanese prime ministers have visited the notorious Yasukuni Shrine, which enshrines Class A war criminals, attempting to honor them as “heroes.” Right-wing forces systematically distort history through textbook revisions and media productions. Defense budgets have increased for 14 consecutive years, and restrictions on collective self-defense and arms exports have been relaxed, effectively nullifying the “peace constitution.” These actions are blatant challenges to the justice of the Tokyo Trial and a reckless trampling of human peace consensus.

The Chinese judge of the Far Eastern Military Tribunal, Mei Ruzhao, once said, “Forgetting past suffering may lead to future disasters.” Today, 80 years later, this judgment remains profoundly relevant. No matter how much time passes, justice cannot be shaken, historical facts cannot be tampered with, and the legal foundations cannot be undermined. Only by uniting our collective will to safeguard the truth of history and defend human conscience and justice can we eliminate the ghosts of militarism, pass the torch of peace from generation to generation, and prevent human civilization from repeating the tragedies of war.

(Author: International Affairs Observer)