China has published a book giving the first-ever detailed account of the trial of Japanese Second World War criminals 55 years ago.
According to the book, titled Far East International Trial, Chinese judges played an important role in the Tokyo Far East Court Martial to bring Japanese war criminals to justice.
Published by Shanghai People's Publishing House, the book represents first detailed account of the trial of 28 top Japanese war criminals in World War II by 11 judges.
With the evidence they gathered, Chinese judges, including Xiang Zhejun, brought the Nanjing Massacre to light during the trial, and the massacre was included in the verdict issued by the court.
About 300,000 disarmed Chinese soldiers and civilians were slaughtered by invading Japanese troops in 1937.
Seven leading Japanese war criminals were sentenced to death by the court, thanks to the Chinese judges and their colleagues from other countries.
The book was written by Tang Hao, a writer from Jiangsu Province, east China.
(Xinhua News Agency January 14, 2003)
