Tokyo Trial Records Published in Chinese for First Time

For 80 years, the full record of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East — the Tokyo Trial — remained inaccessible to Chinese readers. That changed on April 30, 2026, when a 40-volume, 22-million-character complete Chinese translation was published for the first time, filling a critical gap in historical documentation and providing unprecedented access to the post-World War II war crimes tribunal that prosecuted Japanese wartime leaders.

A Monumental Translation Effort

The work — titled The Complete Chinese Translation of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East Court Records — was released at Zhejiang Yuexiu University in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province. According to Xinhua News Agency, the translation spans 49,858 pages of original English court records, covering all 831 court sessions, testimony from 419 witnesses, and 4,336 pieces of documentary and physical evidence from April 29, 1946, through November 12, 1948.

The project brought together over 100 translators, proofreaders, editors, and historians from Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s Center for the Tokyo Trial Studies, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Press, and Zhejiang Yuexiu University. Work began in 2015, with the first installment (volumes 1-10) published in 2017, before the full set was completed this year.

Why a Complete Translation Matters

Cheng Zhaoqi, editor-in-chief of the translation and director of the SJTU Center for Tokyo Trial Studies, explained the significance: “Only by completing the Chinese transformation can the historical materials related to the Tokyo Trial truly integrate into our country’s academic system, education system, and public communication system. The Tokyo Trial is too relevant to China — it should not be an archive accessible only to the few experts who can read English or Japanese.”

Cui Xia, director of the Humanities and Social Sciences Division at SJTU Press, emphasized that partial translations cannot substitute for the complete record. “Indices, summaries, and excerpted materials can only outline historical outlines and present fragmented information — they cannot restore the complete historical panorama,” she said.

Correcting History

The translation team did not merely convert text from English to Chinese. They also corrected over a thousand errors in the original English and Japanese records — including misspelled names, incorrect dates, and transcription errors. Chinese witness Qin Dechun’s name, for instance, appeared in 13 different spellings across the original documents. The team cross-referenced historical archives, biographies, and event timelines to produce what may be the most accurate edition of the trial records in any language.

Historical Context: The Tokyo Trial

The International Military Tribunal for the Far East was established on January 19, 1946, by General Douglas MacArthur, following the Potsdam Declaration and Japan’s surrender. It brought together judges and prosecutors from 11 nations and prosecuted 28 Class-A Japanese war criminals for crimes against peace, conventional war crimes, and crimes against humanity.

As reported by Xinhua at the launch event, the trial opened on May 3, 1946 — exactly 80 years before the translation’s publication. The final judgment in November 1948 resulted in seven death sentences, 16 life imprisonment terms, and two fixed-term sentences.

Chinese Judge Mei Ru’ao drafted the chapter on “Japan’s Aggression Against China” in the judgment, which accounts for more than half of the coverage of Japan’s foreign aggression. Chinese Prosecutor Xiang Zhejun led the evidence collection for the Nanjing Massacre and was a core figure of the 17-member Chinese legal team.

Contemporary Significance

The publication comes amid heightened tensions between China and Japan. The Chinese government has explicitly connected the translation to contemporary concerns about Japanese remilitarization. In a statement marking the 80th anniversary of the trial’s opening, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning said: “The Tokyo Trial judged human conscience and ruled on historical justice. Facing the current situation where Japan’s ‘new militarism’ is becoming a growing concern, revisiting the background, conclusions, and principles of the Tokyo Trial has even greater practical significance.”

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian added that the publication “once again demonstrates that the aggressive crimes of Japanese militarism are too numerous to record in full and are supported by ironclad evidence.”

A Shift in Historical Discourse

Experts say the translation fundamentally shifts the balance of historical discourse. Previously, interpretation of the Tokyo Trial was dominated by Western and Japanese scholarship. With the complete Chinese text now available, Chinese scholars can participate in international academic dialogue with primary source authority.

Xu Chi, associate researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Institute of Law, noted: “The publication of the complete Chinese translation enables Chinese scholars to participate in international discourse on the Tokyo Trial with full authority.”

Preserving Historical Truth

The translation project was driven in part by the desire to counter historical revisionism. Xiang Longwan, now 85 and the son of Chinese Prosecutor Xiang Zhejun, has been a key force behind the effort. He recalled his father’s 1983 words: “History cannot be erased, distorted, or falsified. If Japanese militarism revives, the Chinese people, including the Japanese people and the people of Asia, will suffer again.”

Mei Ru’ao, the Chinese judge at the trial, wrote in 1962: “I am not a revanchist. I have no intention of writing off the blood debts owed to us by Japanese imperialists on the account of the Japanese people. But I believe that forgetting the suffering of the past may invite future disaster.”

What’s Next

The 40-volume set is now available in print, with discussions underway about potential digital access to broaden reach. Scholars expect the translation to reshape Tokyo Trial studies globally, enabling Chinese researchers to engage with primary sources and contribute to international scholarship on post-war justice. The work is also expected to be integrated into China’s educational system as a resource for teaching World War II history.