Applause burst from the participants as they watched in high spirits the video of the scene that 7 war criminals including Hideki Tojo who wereguilty of the most heinous crimes were finally hung on the gallows after defeated by the justice at the International Military Tribunal for the Far East more than 60 years ago. Matsui Ishine had entered a plea of innocence earlier, but Chinese Prosecutor Mr. Xiang Zhejun declaimed against him with plenty of evidence, leading to the capital punishment of the criminals.

At the premiere and Academic Seminar of the book “Tokyo Trial·Chinese Prosecutor Zhejun Xiang” in Shanghai Jiao Tong University Press on April 2, this scene reappeared in the PPT presentation by the author Mr. Xiang Wanlong, who is the youngest son of Mr. Xiang Zhejunand a professor in the Department of Mathematics, SJTU.

Present at the book premiere were President of East China University of Political Science and Law, famous jurist He Qinhua, Party Community Secretary of Shanghai Social Sciences Association Shen Guoming, Counselor of Shanghai Municipal People’s Government Xuan Guoliang, Standing Member of SJTU Party Committee, Director of SJTU Party Office Li Jianqiang, Executive Vice President of Shanghai Overseas Returned Scholars Association Shen Zhiqin. Besides, He Qinhua, Li Jianqiang, and Shen Zhiqin delivered speeches at the seminar. Leaders, scholars, and experts in circles of higher education, law, and literature and art, as well as relevant departments of SJTU attended the premiere. Scholars and experts, such as Xu Xiaobing, Wang Xuan, Guan Jianqiang, Su Zhiliang, Gu Ting, and Chen Xinyi etc, made statements at the seminar. President of Shanghai Jiao Tong University Publishing House Han Jianmin presided over the premiere.

The book unveiled both the English original version and the Chinese translation version of the many proofs Prosecutor Zhejun Xiang furnished at court for the first time in China, which is of great historical and practical significance.

For some historical reasons, the original data of the Tokyo Trial is badly missing, while many people engaged in the event have passed away, such as Xiang Zhejun, Mei Ru’ao, Ni Zhengyu, and so on. Therefore, Prof. Xiang Longwan had to collect lots of the precious literature and pictures from the USA. Moreover, the memoir wrote by Mrs. Zhou Fang, the wife of Xiang Zhejun, in her lifetime is also contained in the book. From the natural and plain style of the book the readers may get to know the life of the juristic authority from many aspects. Qiu Shaohuan, Zhang Peiji and Gao Wenbin, three elder jurists that attended the Tokyo Trial, wrote inscriptions for this book with alacrity. Presidents of Xiang Zhejun’s Alma Maters (i.e. Tsinghua University, Yale University, the George Washington University Law School) and presidents of the universities where he worked at (i.e. Peking University, Beijing Jiaotong University, Nanjing University, Suzhou University, East China Normal University, Fudan University, East China University of Political Science and Law, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics) as well, wrote inscriptions to pay tribute to Mr. Xiang Zhejun.Subsidized by Shanghai Cultural Development Foundation National Special Funds for Publishing, published by Shanghai Jiao Tong University Press, the book is of great importance to the circles of law, history, and publishing in Shanghai, and will have a profound impact on the education and research of relevant fields.