Le Procès de Tôkyô, l’empereur et la question du Yasukuni
In Japan, a part of the conservative political class continues to deny the conclusions of the Tokyo trial, as a justice “of the victors”. But the proponents of this theory face a contradiction since the Emperor Hirohito himself expressed his gratitude to the American occupation authority (SCAP) for...
| Published in: | Droit et Cultures |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | French |
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L’Harmattan
2009-10-01
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journals.openedition.org/droitcultures/2027 |
| Summary: | In Japan, a part of the conservative political class continues to deny the conclusions of the Tokyo trial, as a justice “of the victors”. But the proponents of this theory face a contradiction since the Emperor Hirohito himself expressed his gratitude to the American occupation authority (SCAP) for not condemning him. Hirohito therefore admitted the conclusions of the trial. The paradox goes even further as the conservative leaders publicize their visit to Yasukuni shrine although the Emperor himself ceased to visit the shrine after top leaders convicted as war criminals at the Tokyo Trial were transferred to the shrine without his consent. These internal contradictions among Japanese rightists help to consider the Tokyo Trial under a different light. Far from being a simple “victor’s justice”, the U.S. strategy was highly beneficial to Japanese rightists: as Hirohito was not indicted, it was possible to establish him as a symbol of the nation by Article I of the new Constitution of 1946. This enabled the conservative camp to save the imperial system and ensure continuity between prewar and postwar Japan. |
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| ISSN: | 0247-9788 2109-9421 |