"HEINOUS CRIMES WHOSE RECORD WOULD RUN TO MORE THAN 2,000 PAGES": AN ANALYSIS OF FIVE JAPANESE PERPETRATORS' STATEMENTS ON JAPAN'S CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY IN CHINA DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR
"HEINOUS CRIMES WHOSE RECORD WOULD RUN TO MORE THAN 2,000 PAGES": AN ANALYSIS OF FIVE JAPANESE PERPETRATORS' STATEMENTS ON JAPAN'S CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY IN CHINA DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR

Summary/Abstract: Using five testimonies from Japanese war criminals tried at the Shanghai Military Tribunal, I argue that the testimonies commonly reflect three facts. First, Japanese war crimes in China during World War II can be classified into four types: murder, rape, destruction of private property, and "academic espionage"— reporting on China's political and socio-economic conditions to assist and facilitate Japan's invasion of China. Second, although the perpetrators did confess their crimes, their apologies could not be judged as entirely sincere, for some used the Japanese Emperor or the imperial system as a scapegoat and an excuse for committing the crimes. Finally, the variety of crimes which the Japanese witnesses admitted and their use of the Japanese emperor and Japanese imperialism as excuses to justify their engagement in such crimes demonstrates the necessity of further research into the extent of Japan's war crimes and a corresponding acknowledgement and an official apology from the Japanese Government.

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