Over 1,000 Chinese witnesses came forth to testify in the trials which lasted until February of 1947 after the Chinese government posted notices in Nanking regarding the need for credible witnesses, (Chang 1997:170). Unlike the Nuremburg Trials, however, much of the case against the Japanese fell apart thanks to faulty prosecution and a lack of true concern for justice in the region.

The events which conspired in Nanking during the Japanese occupation broke several established international laws for the protection of civilians, prisoners of war, and unarmed Chinese soldiers. According to the International Military Tribunal of the Far East, three classifications of war criminals were established based on the intent and nature of their crimes. This tribunal followed the model set in Europe by the coinciding tribunal the International Military Tribunal of Nuremburg and followed the same charter with the definition of war crimes as "violations of the laws and...
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