A Reckoning: Philippine Trials of Japanese War Criminals

After World War II, thousands of Japanese throughout Asia were put on trial for war crimes. Examination of postwar trials is now a thriving area of research, but Sharon W. Chamberlain is the first to offer an authoritative assessment of the legal proceedings convened in the Philippines. These were trials conducted by Asians, not Western powers, and centered on the abuses suffered by local inhabitants rather than by prisoners of war. Her impressively researched work reveals the challenges faced by the Philippines, as a newly independent nation, in navigating issues of justice amid domestic and international pressures.

Chamberlain highlights the differing views of Filipinos and Japanese about the trials. The Philippine government aimed to show its commitment to impartial proceedings with just outcomes. In Japan, it appeared that defendants were selected arbitrarily, judges and prosecutors were biased, and lower-ranking soldiers were punished for crimes ordered by their superior officers. She analyzes the broader implications of this divergence as bilateral relations between the two nations evolved and contends that these competing narratives were reimagined in a way that, paradoxically, aided a path toward postwar reconciliation.

Author: Sharon W. Chamberlain
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Published: 03/05/2019
Pages: 272
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.05lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.10w x 0.80d
ISBN13: 9780299318604
ISBN10: 0299318605
BISAC Categories:
- History | Asia | Southeast Asia
- History | Wars & Conflicts | World War II | General
- Political Science | Genocide & War Crimes

About the Author
Sharon Chamberlain is an independent historian. She lives in Washington, DC.