In the weeks after Japan finally surrendered to the Allies to end World War II, there was the question of how to move on from years of carnage and destruction. For the Allied powers, putting the Japanese leaders on trial was an opportunity to create a legal framework to prosecute war crimes and prohibit the use of aggressive war, building a more peaceful world under international law and American hegemony. For the Japanese leaders on trial, it was their chance to argue that their war had been waged to liberate Asia from Western imperialism and that the court was victors' justice. The trial brought complexity, dissents, and divisions that provoke international discord between China, Japan, and Korea to this day. This magnificent history is a riveting story of wartime action, dramatic courtroom battles, and the epic formative years that set the stage for the Asian postwar era.