Documentary 'The Tokyo Trials' aired at US National Archives

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A three-episode documentary providing rare footage of the Tokyo war crime trials after the Second World War was aired at the US National Archives in Washington, DC on Thursday night.

It has also coincided with the US premiere of the documentary's third season.

The screening of the "The Tokyo Trials" series was in observance of the 70th anniversary of the trial's adjournment in 1948, said the National Archives on its website.

The Allied Forces tried Japanese war criminals at the International Military Tribunal for the Far East in Tokyo after WWII. The proceedings, lasting more than two and a half years, played an important part in shaping the postwar Asia-Pacific order.

"This documentary series have reconstructed a vivid picture of the historic event," said Mei Xiaokan, daughter of Chinese Justice Mei Ru'ao who participated in the Tokyo trials, at the screening ceremony.

"Although the Tokyo Trials had the largest number of participating countries as well as the longest court time, and left the most voluminous files and documents in human history, related research and filming are not enough," said Song Jiongming, vice president of the documentary's producer Shanghai Media Group (SMG), explaining why the documentary series were produced.

Song also thanked the US National Archives for its "strong support" during the filming.

"The archives provided many precious files, some of them going public for the first time in the filming," Song told the audience at the ceremony.

Xiang Longwan, son of Chinese prosecutor Xiang Zhejun of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, recalled his numerous visits to the US National Archives to explore original materials of the Tokyo Trials, including texts, pictures and documentaries.

Based on this experience, Xiang said, he could "deeply feel that China and the United States were in an alliance for the anti-fascist war," and the two countries cooperated to defend peace and justice at the time.

"I deeply hope that this spirit of cooperation can be passed down from generation to generation," said Xiang, a math professor, who is now also the honorary director of the Center for the Tokyo Trial Studies of Shanghai Jiaotong University.

During the four years of filming, the SMG sent crews to the United States, Germany, Japan and other countries for exclusive video records and interviews with scholars. The documentary has won several awards including the Best Documentary Series at the 21st Asian Television Awards in December 2016.

(Top image: Song Jiongming, vice president of the documentary's producer Shanghai Media Group (SMG), speaks at the screening ceremony in Washington, the United States, on November 15, 2018. /Photo via Xinhua News Agency)

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency