Judgment at Tokyo : World War II on trial and the making of modern Asia / Gary J. Bass.
| Author/creator | Bass, Gary Jonathan, 1969- author. |
| Format | Book |
| Edition | First Vintage Books edition. |
| Publication | London : Vintage Books, 2024. |
| Copyright Date | ©2023 |
| Description | xi, 892 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm |
| Subjects |
| Contents | Introduction -- Part I. Genesis. Nuremberg to Tokyo -- Unconditional surrender -- "Prompt and utter destruction" -- Atomic fire -- Supreme commander -- Apprehensions -- "When the emperor violates the law" -- The god that failed -- The Imperial Hotel -- Part II. Catharsis. The anatomy of the Tokyo Trial -- "Asia for the Asiatics" -- The first conquest -- The rape of Nanjing -- Remember Pearl Harbor -- The narrow road to the deep north -- Eleven angry men -- The defense rises -- A very British coup -- Denial at Nanjing -- Self-defense at Pearl Harbor -- The emperor waltz -- "The great sorrow of my life" -- Tojo takes the stand -- Part III. Nemesis. Mr. X -- Days of judgment -- "Blowing up a ton of dynamite" -- Judgment at Tokyo -- Dissensus -- "I am wholly dissenting" -- Equal justice under law -- One minute after midnight -- A silent prayer -- The inescapable purge of Comrade Mei -- Epilogue: Martyrs of Showa. |
| Abstract | 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. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| ISBN | 110197107X paperback |
| ISBN | 9781101971079 paperback |