ABSTRACT
In the last chapter it was shown how cosmopolitan impulses bolstered by moral outrage at the events of World War II and a lack of political alterna tives in relation to the fate of the top Nazis led to their prosecution for the crime of aggression at Nuremberg. However, it was also demonstrated how these largely American impulses were tempered by both the European Allies’ diverse views of the role of law in international politics, as well as judicial conservatism on the part of the Nuremberg bench. The combined impact of these influences helped shape the contours of the individual crime of inter national aggression in such a way as to defeat many of the most strident criticisms of Nuremberg. The same cannot be said of the trial of Japanese leaders for the crime of aggression held in Tokyo after World War II. In this context, the American push to prosecute this crime was left essentially unfettered by European input. Consequently the proprosecution view overran virtually all other factors, including: (1) the legally questionable decision to exclude Emperor Hirohito entirely from the trial; (2) the piecemeal and weak evidence about the conduct of Japanese leaders before and during World War II; and (3) the circum stances of Japanese involvement in World War II. The decision to prose cute the crime of aggression regardless of these considerations militating against such prosecution left the judges with little basis upon which to adjudi cate, and therefore the majority view followed closely the initial charges laid against the Japanese defendants. This, and other aspects of the trial, left it open to severe criticism on the grounds of bias, a lack of independence, and injustice, criticism which continues to the present day.1 Consequently, if Nuremberg demonstrated what positive outcomes cosmopolitan thinking can achieve when grounded by the prevailing political and moral climate as well as judicial caution, Tokyo revealed the negative side of cosmopolitan initiatives which override all else. Before developing these arguments further however, it is necessary first to look more closely at the way in which the Pacific War ended, and how this differed from the final moments of the European War.
