The Forgotten Trial

On 29 April 1946, the International Military Tribunal for the Far East – the counterpart to Nuremberg – began its work in Japan. Twenty-eight men were indicted, among them Prime Minister Hideki Tôjô, under whose leadership Japan waged a war that claimed millions of lives. Eleven international judges decided their fate.

What was intended to be a milestone of international criminal justice, like Nuremberg, was overshadowed by tensions and accusations of victor’s justice. The Indian judge Radhabinod Pal delivered a dissenting opinion advocating acquittal. To this day, right-wing movements in Japan use his stance to question Japan’s war guilt.

The feature traces Pal’s story across Japan and Nuremberg with exclusive access to archival documents. It speaks with legal scholars, historians and admirers, including Tôjô’s great-grandson. It asks: Who was Pal – and what does his dissent reveal about the limits and possibilities of international criminal law, which is still struggling for relevance today?