Judgement at Tokyo : World War II on trial and the making of modern Asia
Bass, Gary Jonathan, 1969-2023
Books, Manuscripts
In the weeks after Japan finally surrendered to the Allies to end World War II, the victorious powers turned to the question of how to move on from years of carnage and destruction. For the Allied powers, the trials were an opportunity both to render judgement on their vanquished foes and to create a legal framework to prosecute war crimes and prohibit the use of aggressive war. For the Japanese leaders on trial, it was their chance to argue that their war had been waged to liberate Asia from Western imperialism and that the court was no more than victors' justice. For more than two years, the tensions and contradictions of the courtroom could be seen playing out across Asia as the trial unfolded in the crucial early years of the Cold War and the end of the European empires. They have influenced power politics across Asia and the Pacific ever since.
Bass, Gary Jonathan, 1969-, author
London : Picador, 2023.
xi, 892 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
IntroductionPart I: Genesis. Nuremberg to TokyoUnconditional surrender"Prompt and utter destruction"Atomic fireSupreme commanderApprehensions"When the emperor violates the law"The god that failedThe Imperial HotelPart II: Catharsis. The anatomy of the Tokyo Trial"Asia for the Asiatics"The first conquestThe rape of NanjingRemember Pearl HarborThe narrow road to the deep northEleven angry menThe defense risesA very British coupDenial at NanjingSelf-defense at Pearl HarborThe emperor waltz"The great sorrow of my life"Tojo takes the standPart III: Nemesis. Mr. XDays of judgment"Blowing up a ton of dynamite"Judgment at TokyoDissensus"I am wholly dissenting"Equal justice under lawOne minute after midnightA silent prayerThe inescapable purge of comrade MeiEpilogue: Martyrs of Showa.
9781509812752 (paperback)9781509812745 (hardback)
341.69 BAS341.69
English
83435