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The Trial of Japanese War Criminals in China

The Paradox of Leniency

Department of Politics, Princeton University, New Jersey, USA

This article explores the trial of Japanese war criminals by the People’s Republic of China in the 1950s and explains why China decided to try these war criminals in a lenient and humanitarian way, why the trial was held only in 1956 and not earlier, and how these Japanese war criminals were persuaded to change their stance from stubborn denial to open confession of their guilt and regrets. Drawing on declassified documents concerning the trial released by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in May 2006, this article finds that the timing and the conduct of the trial were intertwined with China’s political strategy in relation to Japan at that period of time.

Key Words: Japanese war criminals • China—Japan relations • revolutionary humanitarianism • military tribunal • criminal rehabilitation

China Information, Vol. 23, No. 3, 447-472 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0920203X09345189


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