Book

Japanese war criminals : the politics of justice after the Second World War

Sandra Wilson... [et al.]

New York : Columbia University Press, 2017

XV, 417 p. : cartes, tabl., photogr, graph. ; 24 cm

978-0-231-17922-5

English

Bibliographie : p. 361-396. Index

Examining the complex moral, ethical, legal, and political issues surrounding the Allied prosecution project of Japanese war criminals, from the first investigations during the war to the final release of prisoners in 1958, this volume shows how a simple effort to punish the guilty evolved into a multidimensional struggle that muddied the assignment of criminal responsibility for war crimes. Over time, indignation in Japan over Allied military actions, particularly the deployment of the atomic bombs, eclipsed anger over Japanese atrocities, and, among the Western powers, new Cold War imperatives took hold. This book makes a unique contribution to our understanding of the construction of the postwar international order in Asia and to our comprehension of the difficulties of implementing transitional justice.