Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II

by John W. Dower

The Nuremberg trial began on November 20, 1945, and concluded some ten months later. Following months of preparation, the Tokyo tribunal convened on May 3, 1946 and continued for thirty-one months. One inevitable consequence of its length was increasing public ennui on the issue of war crimes and war responsibility.

Eleven justices presided at Tokyo as opposed to four at Nuremberg. At its peak, the prosecution numbered around one hundred attorneys supported by a staff of over one hundred Allied nationals and almost two hundred Japanese. In 818 court sessions over 417 days, the tribunal heard testimony from 419 witnesses and accepted depositions and affidavits from an additional 779 individuals—significantly more than at Nuremberg. Thousands of hitherto secret documents were collected under its jurisdiction, providing a record of policy making that could never have been assembled under other circumstances.