A Study of the Defense System at the Yokohama Tribunal for Minor Class War Criminals Based on the Historical Documents of the Legal Department of the U.S. 8th Army

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K00938
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 03020:Japanese history-related
• Research Institution: Nihon University
• Principal Investigator: TAKAZAWA Hiroaki 日本大学, 生産工学部, 准教授 (00459835)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 横浜法廷 / BC級戦犯 / 東京裁判 / A級戦犯 / 刑死者

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study was intended to investigate the actual status of the defense system of the Yokohama Tribunal, which held hearings for so-called Class BC war criminals against Japan, and was an attempt to conduct field research at the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (hereinafter referred to as "NARA"), which stores materials of the U.S. Eighth Army, which managed the Tribunal at that time. However, due to the worldwide outbreak of COVID-19 during the research period, the research was interrupted, and even when the research was resumed afterwards, we were unable to obtain any materials related to this research. On the other hand, I was able to obtain some secondary results, such as the discovery of unidentified materials related to persons sentenced to death in the Tokyo and Yokohama trials.

Free Research Field

法学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究の当初目的は達成できなかったが、不十分ながらもNARAでの調査活動で入手した資料の分析によって、東京裁判と横浜法廷の刑死者に関する新たな事実関係を把握することができた。①１つは東京裁判における刑死者に関するもので、これまで刑死者の火葬後の遺灰は太平洋に撒かれたことは知られていたが、今回、その事実を示す米8軍が作成した文書の存在を確認し、米軍の戦犯政策の一端を窺い知ることを可能とした。②もう１つは横浜法廷の被告人とその関係者がGHQや第8軍に提出した陳述書や嘆願書の存在を確認したことである。現在そのコピーをご遺族に渡し、これまでに知られていない横浜法廷に関する証言も得ることができた。