China called for renewed reflection on the legacy of the Tokyo Trials on Sunday, the 80th anniversary of its opening, and warned that its relevance has grown significantly amid rising Japanese neo-militarism.
A spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry criticized efforts by right-wing forces in Japan to whitewash wartime aggression, revive the military-industrial sector, push for constitutional revision and accelerate remilitarization. The spokesperson said that as such trends gain momentum in Japan, revisiting the Tokyo Trials carries greater contemporary significance.
The Tokyo Trials convened on May 3, 1946, almost a year after Japan announced its unconditional surrender in World War II. In the following two and a half years, the tribunal, consisting of judges from 11 countries, revealed and addressed Japan’s inhuman and anti-civilization war crimes committed during its fascist expansion and sentenced 25 Class-A war criminals, including Hideki Tojo, to death or imprisonment.
The Foreign Ministry said the trials implemented the principles of the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Declaration, reflecting the collective will of victorious nations and victims, upholding the purposes of the United Nations, and safeguarding the outcomes of World War II.
