740.00116 PW/10–1848: Telegram
The Acting Political Adviser in Japan (Sebald) to the Secretary of State
246. SCAP’s legal section announced October 18 that it has completed the prosecution of one thousand suspected war criminals. These prosecutions are in addition to the trial of former Premier Hideki Tojo and his 22 colleagues arraigned as class A criminals before the International Military Tribunal for the Far East.
The one thousand-mark was reached last week on the completion of the case of United States versus Kakuzo Iida and seven other accused. This trial resulted in death sentences for two officers of the former Japanese Imperial Navy, and terms of from three years to life at hard labor for the remaining six co-defendants.
The trials which resulted in 916 convictions were held before USA Military Commissions in Yokohama and Manila. Japanese on trial in Manila for war crimes since May 1947 have appeared before Philippine Government courts.
Statistics regarding the trials follow: Death sentences 192, life sentences 80, 25–50 years imprisonment 68, 11–25 years 209, 6–10 years 144, 5 years or less 223, acquittals 84.
Highlights of the trials include sentencing of Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama and four others to hang, in the longest trials on record which lasted 5 months and 18 days in court.
[Page 873]The largest number of defendants tried at one time involved 46 officers and men of the former Japanese Navy. 41 of the defendants were sentenced to death.
For causing the death of an estimated 10,000 Filipinos and Americans in the Bataan death march, former Major General Yoshitaro Kawane and Colonel Kurutaro Hirano were sentenced to death.
Another trial involving comparable number of victims started in Yokohama, October 15, when six former generals were charged with contributing to the suffering of between 10,000 and 30,000 war prisoners shipped from the South Pacific to Japan.
Among the 1,000 tried were former Generals Yamashita and Homma, who were convicted and hanged for allowing their men to commit innumerable brutalities in the Philippines.
Sent Manila 52; repeated Shanghai 83, Nanking 51, Department 246.