The trial of Japanese modernization: The Tokyo war crimes trial

The International Military Tribunal for the Far East was established after the Second World War to identify and punish Japan's wartime leaders as war criminals. The Tribunal was an attempt by the Allied nations to hold Japan solely responsible for the conspiracy of "preparing, planning and waging" a war of aggression. Problematically, the Allies failed to pursue their stated objective of justice but instead "universalized" their subjective and limited historical interpretation of the war. The Tribunal failed to address issues of importance to Japan and had a negative impact on the national development of Japan. The shortcomings of the Tokyo Trial is a key to understanding Japan's current "abnormalization" and dilemma of historical authenticity. This research analyzes Japan's rationalization of war from a long-term perspective and revisits the Allies' case against Japan.