WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL.
United States of America vs. Hiroshi Tamura.
The International Military Tribunal for the Far East, abbreviated as TMIEO was created on January 19, 1946 to prosecute major Japanese war criminals of the Second World War. Tamura Hiroshi was Head of the Prisoner of War Information Bureau. He was considered an A-class war criminal and was sentenced to 8 years in prison in February 23rd, 1949. The trial was conducted under the direction of the Supreme Command of the Allied Powers (SCAP). In order to show the international dimension of trial, an Australian officer was appointed president of the proceedings.
The charge against Tamura was willful disregard of duties in contravention to the Geneva Conventions, in particular his refusal to allow members of the Red Cross access to POW camps. His defence argued that Tamura was entirely dependent on the orders from above. This extremely detailed archive of examination of evidence and counter-evidence shows the remarkable will of the Allied Forces to be seen to be following the letter of the law to the highest possible standard. .
