Ambition before the tombstone

Cartoon by Cao Yi

The year 2026 marks the 80th anniversary of the opening of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, or Tokyo Trials. With overwhelming evidence, the Tokyo Trials nailed the atrocities of Japanese fascist aggression to the pillar of historical shame and laid a legal foundation for the postwar international order.

However, the shadow of the Cold War allowed many Japanese war criminals to evade punishment, and the toxic legacy of Japanese militarism was never fully eradicated.

Today, the Takaichi government seeks to revive militarist ideology and brazenly attempts to revise the constitution and expand military power. It is an aberrant and toxic offshoot nurtured in this poisoned historical soil.

Only by drawing lessons from history and jointly safeguarding the just outcomes of the Tokyo Trials can we ensure that the specter of militarism never rises again.