Tokyo Trial

Morning.

Press release from General MacArthur.

He's named me to replace Webb.

He should've appointed you.

Well, he's trying to placate your government.

Why the concern?

If my health becomes an issue, it could put the whole trial back.

We need to move forward, in case Webb returns.

Well, he's naive if he thinks he can just slip back in like that.

If I decline for health reasons,

Webb's position will naturally have to go to you.

- Making our position stronger still. - Precisely.

Willink, what does this mean?

Hmm.

It's an attempt to help you.

"We urgently appeal to you to follow the Tokyo Trial Charter

and to align yourself with the opinions of the majority of judges."

How would they know about conversations in the judges' chambers?

Unless you have a spy on the tribunal committee.

The tribunal is far from a secret club,

Röling, and its members are free to update their superiors on any issue.

Who, specifically, are we talking about?

Those with whom the Netherlands wishes to curry favor.

They cannot stop independent thought with threats.

Our government is looking out for its interests and your future.

My strong advice is to re-consider your position on this.

You may represent Holland's interests here in Japan, General,

but I see my role as representing more than my own country.

Well, I'll try.

- Good evening. - Justice Röling.

Ah, good evening.

Suddenly, my government is pressuring me to fall in with the rest of you.

I beg your pardon?

Did you, by any chance, initiate this?

What you and your government discuss is none of my business.

This trial is historically significant.

The truth is nothing will be achieved if you separate from the group.

The autonomy of every judge on this trial should come before all else.

What matters is that we support the new president,

so we can arrive at the correct verdict.

Mmm, will it be Northcroft?

As Webb's number two, he's the natural choice.

Mmm. Of course.

Ah, so we're all here.

In accordance with our charter,

General MacArthur has chosen a new president.

For the record, I supported Justice Northcroft.

However... MacArthur has nominated Justice Cramer to act in my place.

As a military man, I could not say no to General MacArthur.

We fully support your appointment, Major General.

Don't we, gentlemen?

Certainly.

Yes.

Thank you.

In truth, I have no experience as a presiding judge in any court

back home in the United States.

So, I am hoping for a little extra support as we move forward.

As a fellow military man, General Zaryanov welcomes you

to this new position and offers his full support.

Thank you, General.

Well...

- Welcome, General. - Thank you.

Well...

- that was an unpleasant surprise. - Indeed.

But it's still in our favor.

Cramer's a military man.

He'll maintain a steady course... once he's pointed in the right direction.

Excuse me.

Herr Röling...

what a pleasant surprise.

Frau Schneider.

- Come in. - Thank you.

Have a seat.

Well... you look tired.

- Have you been working too hard? - I suppose so, yes.

Yes.

I needed to get away from the hotel.

With all this tension and...

And I had nowhere to go to but... here.

Well, yeah. You're always welcome.

Thank you.

But are you sure you won't be in trouble consorting with a German?

I prefer to think of you as an artist.

Mmm.

Well, start with a drink.

This is very good.

Ooh.

I know that...

I shouldn't talk about this...

I'm sorry.

I came to Tokyo when I was sure about what we all could accomplish together.

And now I find myself in some kind of legal purgatory.

How can that be?

Well...

The bench is divided on certain fronts.

That sounds very complicated.

It is. It is very complicated.

And to make it even worse,

my government gave me a stern message to side with the majority.

And I suspect you may not...

- I hate such interference. - Yeah.

And accused men wait in prison.

Thankfully, you Americans left this little park alone

when you bombed Tokyo.

I'd like to think we planned it that way.

What do you think of Pal?

- Seems like a loose cannon to me. - Yes. Indeed.

Bernard and Röling worry me too.

They have an uncanny sense of duty, but misguided, I'm afraid.

Hmm...

Might be best to keep them in the short grass.

Hmm?

It's a hunting reference we use back home.

Keep them where you can see them.

Out in the open.

I'm a pretty direct guy, Lord Patrick, so let me ask...

where do you see this going?

As practical men, we must give weight to the evidence

and the testimonies and respect our charter.

That way, we arrive at a prompt and agreed-upon verdict.

We cannot allow those who want to to veer from that and do as they wish.

I couldn't agree with you more.

What do you think of Cramer as president?

Cramer's a good choice. He will push things through quickly.

As long as we give the accused a fair consideration.

Of course, being fair to them is important.

But they wanted to rule the East at any cost.

Ah, personally, I don't want to come to quick conclusions,

especially with politics,

who were being played on so many sides before the war started.

It was as it always is,

countries vying for wealth and resources.

Only Japan abandoned diplomacy for aggressive attacks.

The Japanese might have had some, uh, good colonial intentions.

No foreign nation has the right to impose its culture, its views on another.

I am sorry, um...

- you misunderstood me. - Did I?

I was one of the first to fight against the Nazis.

I joined the General de Gaulle, La France Libre,

the Free France government in 1940.

The Nazis, they sentenced me to death. I hate them.

And in spite of that, I know they are colonialists,

and I think...

I still believe that colonialism can be... good

in places where people lack a civilized government

and a decent way of life.

With respect, no one deserves to make that choice.

And I don't think anyone in history has ever done so for such idealistic reasons.

Do you honestly believe that the Nazis invaded France

because they thought its people deserved a better life under their flag?

No.

No, they were fulfilling a madman's hunger for power.

Precisely my point.

As I understand it...

the questioning of the accused is now in progress.

Yes. There's a long way to go.

Shigemitsu and Togo are next to appear, and then Tojo will take the stand.

His testimony is of great interest to all of Japan.

As a teacher, I deeply mourn the many students

taken away from me near the end of the war.

- Mmm. - Many suffered miserable deaths.

Tojo and his generals are to blame for that.

But, in some way, we all share in this guilt.

What do you mean?

We were indoctrinated with the one-sided views of the militarists.

The truth was revealed to us only after the catastrophe.

So, I hope this circumstance will be considered.

But, still...

we accepted a mistaken way of thinking.

Thank you very much.

I would like to think that the Japanese people are not on trial,

but there were leaders who could have stopped the war

but did not take the chance.

And they suffered because of it.

And then there were others who wanted war,

who embraced it for reasons that caused millions of people to die.

We could not see through them and we did not have the courage to resist.

From my experience, that's an ideal to admire,

but very difficult to do when one is surrounded by violence.

Even so... I now think we should have had the courage to uphold it.

Coming.

General Zaryanov. Please, come in.

Good evening.

The general's argument on how Japan conspired

to take over Manchuria and Siberia.

And that, as ambassador to Soviet Union, Shigemitsu was deeply involved in this.

And the general feels it important to detail this now?

The general and his staff are very thorough.

And he wants to set out his position on this matter

in advance of his colleagues deliberating on it.

I see.

Well, it's very thorough indeed.

General wonders why you read about Napoleon.

Well, he's an interesting example of someone who waged aggressive war.

But he was almost wiped out by fierce Russian military tactics.

Yes, but his enemies chose not to execute him.

Instead, they exiled him to Elba.

But this leniency allowed him to escape and return to power.

Many more died in Waterloo.

After which he was exiled again,