Osamu Suzuki’s ‘War Crimes’ Moment - India Real Time - WSJ
Instead, he suggested that, “as all of you must be aware, Dr. Pal did not hold guilty war prisoners of Japan,” or at least that was how it was translated. Dr. Pal, he went on, insisted on this stance because one of the fundamentals of a democracy is “to abide by the law.” He then added, as if surprising himself, that “just now I recall this incident.” (An addendum to that note to the Maruti press department: next time, give Mr. Suzuki a script and ask him not to deviate from it.)
The anecdote was met with a collective “huh?” as we tried to figure out what on Earth he was talking about and how it related to a recent rampage by workers at a Maruti plant in India that left a human-resources manager dead and 100 more injured — the topic the press conference was called to address.
Mr. Suzuki’s remarks were a reference to Radhabinod Pal, a former judge of the Calcutta High Court and law professor at the University of Calcutta, who was one of 11 judges assigned by the Allied powers to preside over the trial of 25 top military and political leaders of imperial Japan who planned and directed the war in the Pacific.
The cases were heard by the International Military Tribunal of the Far East and also are known as the “Tokyo Trials.” The judges considered what were classified as “Class A” crimes — the most sweeping, such as crimes against peace — while trials for those accused of lesser crimes were heard by courts throughout Asia.
Mr. Pal was the only justice who, in a dissenting opinion, exonerated all of those indicted. Eight of those on trial were found guilty and received the death sentence; another 17 were also found guilty and given jail sentences.