—“Tokyo Trial” Impression of the Movie
“Tokyo Trial” tells the story of the 1946 trial of Japanese war criminals by the International Military Tribunal of the Far East in Tokyo. The International Military Tribunal of the Far East consisted of 11 judges from 11 countries, including Justice Mei, who represented the Chinese government.
In the course of the trial, Japanese war criminals acted as if they were crazy by misinterpreting facts, and changing concepts to create various difficulties for the trial. All these schemes were refuted with persuasive evidence by the judges of different countries. But at the critical stage of sentencing, the majority of judges disapproved of the death penalty. Mei applied to the head judge for a final speech before the final verdict. Instead of harping the need for the death penalty, he used the act of breaking the glass as a reminder that it is easy to break the glass, but it is impossible to restore it. The water cup is just like the families’ feelings and the soldiers who died tragically in the Second World War. If these Japanese Class A war criminals are not sentenced to death, the souls of millions of Chinese who died in World War II cannot rest in peace. Mei eventually persuaded judges from different countries with his excellent presentation skills. The court finally sentenced the death penalty to seven Japanese Class A war criminals.
When the court decided the sentence, I wondered, what is the main element that puts these most vicious war criminals in the dock? It was the victory of the anti-Fascist War. What set these criminals on the scaffold? It was Judge Mei who argued in the end for the last vote. No victory, no trial of war criminals; without strength, there can be no just judgment. History tells us that power is the ultimate truth and the ultimate weapon for upholding justice.
When Japan invaded China, under the guise of promoting China's development, introducing advanced Japanese ideas, and co-prosperity of greater East Asia, it ended up in resource plunder, cultural infiltration, and military invasion. In 1937, the Sino-Japanese war broke out. This year, Japan's GDP is three times greater than China, and for the average individual, Japan is more than 20 times greater. Japan, with its industrial base, was strong enough to fight the war. China, in contrast, is still an agricultural country, as weak as a homeless person. If you lag, you will be beaten. The only thing the Chinese government could do was to pull back and seek international help from powerful countries like the U.S. The vast economic gap led to an eight-year war between China and Japan. During the eight-years, millions of Chinese soldiers were killed, tens of millions of civilians were injured, and direct economic losses reached 100 billion dollars. These figures are ringing alarm bells in the minds of Chinese citizens all the time.
The primary cause of China's decline in the 19th century was its isolation from the outside world. During the Industrial Revolution in the West, China looked like a self-righteous frog in a well, missing the opportunity to develop into an industrial country and start overseas trade for more than 300 years. During the Opium War, when Great Britain’s steamships loaded with cannons sailed into Chinese territorial waters, the Qing government only had sailing ships and swords. In the minds of the aggressors, they are always correct even when they start a war. For example, the UK invaded China because British citizens were killed, totally disregarding the dignity and rights of a sovereign state. Under the suppression of westerners’ power, the poor and hateful Qing government had no choice but to sign various humiliating treaties and pay hundreds of millions of silver reparations. These gory facts tell the world that only when a country or a nation is strong enough, will it have the power to protect itself and uphold justice.
Justice is a universal value. Punishing evil and promoting good is an excellent way to maintain justice, but maintaining justice requires strength. As told in the movie, if Judge Mei did not convince most of the judges that the death penalty was the best outcome for the executioners that have blood on their hands, how could the Chinese people who lost their parents, children, brothers and sisters, and other family members in the war be relieved? How will Japanese society reflect on the war and their decision to invade China? None of this is known.
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