Chapter 66 4. The Shameful End of the Murderer

The trial of Toshiaki Mukai, Iwa Noda, and Gunkichi Tanaka, who were involved in the "killing contest" in the "Nanjing Massacre", was held in December 1947. Chief Judge Shi Meiyu, Judges Li Yuanqing, Sun Jianzhong, Long Zhonghuang, Prosecutor Li Xuan, Clerk Shi Yong. On December 18, inside and outside the auditorium of Nanjing Inspirational Club was still full of leaks.At 9 o'clock in the morning, the presiding judge and a group of people appeared in court and sat down. After Shi Meiyu looked around the hall, she announced the opening of the court.Under the escort of the bailiff, the three defendants filed into the courtroom, and all the audience in the hall turned their attention to the dock.But seeing the three men wearing old military uniforms, they were as strong as cows, standing with their chests upright. Although they were prisoners, they still showed the arrogance and brutality of the Japanese fascist soldiers back then.After the routine questioning, prosecutor Li Xuan read out the indictment.

Shi Meiyu immediately asked: "Defendant, are the crimes listed in the indictment just now true?" Mukai and Noda replied together: "It's not true!" Prosecutor Li Xuan asked: "How does the "Tokyo Daily News" explain the two defendants' continuous reports of the "Hundred People Beheading Competition"?" Toshiaki Mukai replied: "The report on the killing contest was fabricated by reporters to praise the might of the imperial army. At that time, I discussed with Noda-kun that if it was published in the newspaper and became a hero, it would win the envy of the Japanese women's circle and get a spouse as soon as possible after returning home. So it was agreed."

There was a contemptuous laugh in the auditorium. Military judge Li Yuanqing immediately refuted it severely: "During the war, the Japanese army paid great attention to the control and inspection of military news, and "Tokyo Niichi Shimbun" is an important publication in Japan. The huge space is dedicated to the defendant's publicity, and the publication of the news is supported by various other definite evidences. It is said that the ferocious act of "killing contest" can be used as a marriage advertisement to win the favor of women, and it is more modern human beings. This is unprecedented in history, so each section of the defendant's defense is unacceptable."

Toshiaki Mukai was rendered speechless, and Junkichi Tanaka took the opportunity to argue: "Presiding judge, the prosecutor showed me a photo of the murder, wearing a shirt, obviously in summer; and the capture of Nanjing was in the cold winter, so this photo Photos can only prove that I beheaded a person in another place, but not that I massacred citizens in Nanjing." The military judge Li Yuanqing immediately retorted: "When wielding a knife and slashing hard, it is normal to take off your coat even in winter for the convenience of movement. Besides, the defendant massacred many Nanjing citizens, and his whole body was feverish. Doubtful. Can you still quibble about such an obvious thing?"

Tanaka Gunkichi was also refuted and had nothing to say. After the court adjournment at noon, the judges discussed the case together while eating. Everyone believed that the facts of the case were clear and the evidence was convincing, so the case could be closed. As for the punishment, it should be the death penalty. The court session resumed at 2:00 p.m., and Shi Meiyu announced that the verdict will now be read out.He read aloud in a loud voice, listing the three defendants' crimes of successive massacres of captives and non-combatants. After the verdict was pronounced, the three defendants were uncharacteristically quiet, neither pleading guilty to serving the sentence nor filing an appeal.Because the three of them had already prepared in their hearts, and with the crimes they committed in China back then, they would surely die if they went there.

January 28, 1948 was the day when Mukai Toshiaki, Noda Iwa, and Tanaka Gunkichi were executed.The criminal vehicle drove out of the Xiaoying War Criminals Detention Center, and drove slowly all the way, passed the Ten Mile Long Street, and drove into the Yuhuatai. The execution ground is surrounded by crowds of people, tens of thousands of heads are moving.The first person to be executed was Toshiaki Mukai. He proposed to kneel in the direction of the emperor, but was flatly rejected by the execution gendarmes.Seeing this, Nodayan resolutely refused to kneel down after walking into the execution ground, pressed down and stood up again, and the execution gendarmes fired several shots before collapsing.The last person to be executed was Tanaka Junkichi. He broke free from the hold of the military police, strode towards the execution ground, and shouted a few slogans.

Shi Meiyu asked the interpreter beside her, "What is he shouting about?" The interpreter replied: "He is shouting Long live His Majesty the Emperor! Long live the Great Japanese Empire!" Shi Meiyu shook her head: "Devil! An unrepentant devil!"