ABSTRACT
At British military trials for Japanese war crimes, 39 wartime interpreters were prosecuted. Excepting one interpreter whose case was dismissed due to his nationality, all the accused interpreters were found guilty. At the confirmation stage, three verdicts were overturned due to a jurisdiction issue, and these defendants were sent to civil court. Ultimately, whether in military or civil court, 38 interpreter defendants faced execution or imprisonment. Nine interpreters were put to death by hanging, of which six were Taiwanese and two were Nisei. Defences of “only interpreting” and “just followed superior orders” were rejected by the court, but the superior orders defence seems to have worked as a mitigating factor in the amendments of the sentences at the confirmation stage. Some judges and prosecutors suggested the offences committed by interpreters from local communities were aggravated because of their “betrayal”. Raising the issue of the accused’s nationality and jurisdiction was not always successful for the defence in seeking dismissal of the case or leniency in sentencing. About half of the convicted interpreters with termed imprisonment had their sentences reduced by the confirming officer or were released early through clemency after 1951 when the Allied occupation of Japan ended.
