This passage argues that even among “war crimes” trials, the Tokyo Trial and the Khabarovsk Trial differed fundamentally in character.
It describes the Khabarovsk Trial as a Soviet domestic proceeding with limited publicity, a very short duration, and defense counsel that did not function as a genuine defense—therefore resembling propaganda and a political show.
It then criticizes NHK for repeatedly showing courtroom photos of the defendants in a way that implies “heinous criminals,” and for broadcasting footage of bereaved family members reacting to testimony tapes—raising the question of human-rights violations.
Finally, it situates the issue within China’s broader propaganda efforts and warns that the audio tape could be weaponized, concluding that careful verification of the tape and serious examination of claims about Unit 731 are necessary to prepare for a new phase of “history war.”

2019-01-28.
The most important task is to examine the contents of the newly surfaced audio tape in detail, with the essential nature of the Khabarovsk Trial firmly in mind, to clarify the truth regarding Unit 731, and to prepare for China’s new phase of “history war.”
A chapter I posted on 2018-04-06 under the title “NHK repeatedly showed courtroom photographs of defendants such as Kiyoshi Kawashima and Tomio Karasawa as if they were ‘heinous criminals’” entered goo’s Best 50 yesterday.
What follows continues from the previous chapter.
How it differs from the Tokyo Trial.
So, even though both are “war crimes” trials, how did the Khabarovsk Trial differ from the Tokyo Trial?
(1) In common, both were trials of victors exacting retribution on the defeated.
(2) The Tokyo Trial was an international tribunal with Allied judges and prosecutors, whereas the Khabarovsk Trial was purely a Soviet domestic trial.
(3) The Tokyo Trial was open to the world’s media, whereas the Khabarovsk Trial was open only to Soviet media and Soviet citizens.
At the time, it attracted little global attention because it was viewed as mere Soviet propaganda.
(4) The Tokyo Trial ran for two and a half years, from May 1946 to November 1948, whereas the Khabarovsk Trial lasted only six days.
In other words, the Tokyo Trial involved extended hearings, whereas the Khabarovsk Trial lacked anything resembling a genuine examination.
(5) At the Tokyo Trial, both the Allied side and the Japanese side had defense counsel, and there were even outstanding defenses—such as that by the American serviceman Blakeney—along with exchanges with judges and prosecutors.
At the Khabarovsk Trial, although Soviet defense counsel was assigned, no real defense of the defendants was conducted.
According to Kazuo Mitomo, he was told that defense counsel would be provided before the trial, but he refused because he did not believe anyone would truly defend him.
He wrote that he eventually accepted after persistent pressure, but at trial the defense counsel, “in the same tone as the prosecutor, branded the defendant a heinous criminal, treated severe punishment as only natural, and declared there was not even room for a defense.”
Kiyoshi Kawashima also wrote that he met the defense counsel only once beforehand, and they did not discuss the proceedings.
From these facts, it is clear that the Khabarovsk Trial was propaganda unworthy of the name of a trial—indeed, a political show.
That is why I call it a fake trial.
In its program, NHK repeatedly showed courtroom photographs of defendants such as Kiyoshi Kawashima and Tomio Karasawa in a way that suggested they were “heinous criminals.”
It also showed the anguished expression and heavy tone of Karasawa’s bereaved family members, who were made to listen to a tape of the father’s courtroom statement.
Are these not grave violations of human rights?
China has set up the “Exhibition Hall of Unit 731 of the Japanese Army’s Invasion of China” in Pingfang, Harbin, where the Kwantung Army Epidemic Prevention and Water Supply Unit once existed, and uses it to conduct anti-Japanese propaganda.
It is widely known that a branch of China Central Television (CCTV) is located within NHK’s Shibuya Broadcasting Center.
If this audio tape is handed over to CCTV, it is obvious it will be used for anti-Japanese propaganda.
In time, just as with the Nanjing Incident, they will surely launch propaganda such as “300,000 victims of germ warfare.”
What matters most is to verify the audio tape in detail, with the nature of the Khabarovsk Trial properly understood, to clarify the truth about Unit 731, and to prepare for China’s new historical offensive.
Needless to say, researchers who can serve as a kind of “defense counsel” are indispensable in that process.
(Honorifics omitted in the original.).