General Yasuji Okamura was convicted of war crimes in July 1948 by the Tribunal, but was immediately protected by the personal order of Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek,[1] who retained him as a military adviser for the Kuomintang (KMT).[2]
While he was questioned by the investigators, he however testified about the Nanjing massacre:[3]
I surmised the following based on what I heard from Staff Officer Miyazaki, CCAA Special Service Department Chief Harada and Hangzhou Special Service Department Chief Hagiwara a day or two after I arrived in Shanghai. First, it is true that tens of thousands of acts of violence, such as looting and rape, took place against civilians during the assault on Nanking. Second, front-line troops indulged in the evil practice of executing POWs on the pretext of (lacking) rations.
Rensuke Isogai: Former governor of Hong Kong and Chief of Staff of the Kwantung Army. Sentenced to life imprisonment. Released in 1952 and allowed to return to Japan. Died in 1967.
Takashi Sakai: Former governor of Hong Kong and commander of various Japanese armies in China. Sentenced to death and executed in 1946.
Hisakazu Tanaka: Former governor of Hong Kong and commander of the 23rd Army. Sentenced to death and executed in 1947.
Hisao Tani: A commander of Japanese units that committed the Nanjing Massacre. Sentenced to death and executed in 1947.
Captain Gunkichi Tanaka: Personally killed over 300 Chinese POWs and civilians with his sword during the Nanjing Massacre. Sentenced to death and executed in 1948.[4]