''Tokyo Trial'' is a 2016

historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, period piece or just period) is a dramatic work set in the past, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents history, historical events and characters with varying degrees of fiction s ...

miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

that depicts the

International Military Tribunal for the Far East The International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE), also known as the Tokyo Trial and the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal, was a military trial convened on 29 April 1946 to Criminal procedure, try leaders of the Empire of Japan for their cri ...

. An international co-production of Japanese public broadcaster

NHK , also known by its Romanization of Japanese, romanized initialism NHK, is a Japanese public broadcasting, public broadcaster. It is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television licence, television license fee. NHK ope ...

, Dutch studio FATT Productions, and Canadian producers David Cormican and Don Carmody, the series was directed by

Pieter Verhoeff Pieter Verhoeff (4 February 1938 – 17 April 2019) was a Dutch film director. He studied at the Netherlands Film and Television Academy and graduated in 1966. He is known for his films ''The Mark of the Beast (film), The Mark of the Beast'', ''Th ...

and Rob W. King. It stars an ensemble cast, featuring Paul Freeman,

Serge Hazanavicius Serge Hazanavicius ( ) (born 11 September 1963) is an actor and director, working primarily in France. Personal life and family Hazanavicius was born in Paris. His brother is Michel Hazanavicius. They are primarily of Jewish ancestry. Their g ...

Marcel Hensema Marcel Hensema (born 16 April 1970) is a Dutch film actor. He appeared in more than seventy films since 1993. In 2007 he won the Golden Calf for Best Actor The following is a list of winners of the Golden Calf for best actor/actress at the Nede ...

Jonathan Hyde Jonathan Stephen Geoffrey King (born 21 May 1948), known professionally as Jonathan Hyde, is an Australian actor. Hyde is perhaps best known for roles as Herbert Arthur Runcible Cadbury in the comedy film '' Richie Rich'' (1994), Samuel Parrish ...

Irrfan Khan Irrfan Khan () (born Sahabzade Irfan Ali Khan; 7 January 196729 April 2020) was an Indian actor who worked in Indian cinema as well as British and American films. Widely regarded as one of the finest actors in world cinema, Khan's career spa ...

Stephen McHattie Stephen McHattie Smith (born February 3, 1947) is a Canadian actor. Since beginning his professional career in 1970, he has amassed over 200 film and television credits. He won the Genie Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in '' ...

Michael Ironside Frederick Reginald Ironside (born February 12, 1950), known professionally as Michael Ironside, is a Canadian actor. A prominent character actor with over 270 film and television credits, he is known for playing villains and antiheroes, but has ...

Hadewych Minis Hadewych Minis (born 5 January 1977) is a Dutch actress. She won the 2013 Golden Calf for Best Actress award for her performance as Marina in '' Borgman'' and was awarded the prestigious ''Theo d'Or'' prize for her solo performance in the Dutch ...

and

Shinya Tsukamoto is a Japanese filmmaker and actor. With a considerable cult following both domestically and abroad, Tsukamoto is best known for his body horror/Japanese cyberpunk, cyberpunk film ''Tetsuo: The Iron Man'' (1989), which is considered the defining ...

, with narration by

Stacy Keach Walter Stacy Keach Jr. (born June 2, 1941) is an American actor, active in theatre, film and television since the 1960s. Keach first distinguished himself in Off-Broadway productions and remains a prominent figure in American theatre across his ...

. The series premiered in Japan on NHK in four 45-minute episodes, between December 12 and December 15, 2016. Thereafter, it was made available on the NHK On-Demand VoD service and subsequently by

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

. Overseas, the series premiered in 190 countries on Netflix in December 2016.

Premise

Following the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

with the

surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was Hirohito surrender broadcast, announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally Japanese Instrument of Surrender, signed on 2 September 1945, End of World War II in Asia, ending ...

, an international tribunal of judges from the victorious powers are tasked with determining the fate of Japanese war criminals.

Cast

Judges * Tim Ahren as Major General Myron C. Cramer, representing the United States * Paul Freeman as The Honourable Lord William D. Patrick, representing the United Kingdom *

as Henri Bernard, representing France *

as Professor Bert V.A. Röling, representing Netherlands *

as President Sir William Webb, representing Australia *

as Radhabinod Pal, representing British India *

Edward Stuart McDougall Edward Stuart McDougall (25 September 1886 – 14 February 1957) was a Canadian politician and judge. He was a judge on the Court of King's Bench of Quebec and the International Military Tribunal for the Far East. In 1936, McDougall was briefly ...

, representing Canada * David K.S. Tse as Mei Ju-ao, representing the Republic of China *

Julian Wadham Julian Neil Rohan Wadham (born 7 August 1958) is an English actor of stage, film and television. Early life The third son of Rohan Nicholas Wadham DFC and Juliana Wadham (''née'' Macdonald Walker), Wadham was educated at Ampleforth College ...

as Sir Erima H. Northcroft, representing New Zealand * Bert Matias as Colonel

Delfín Jaranilla Delfín Jaranilla y Jebución (December 24, 1883 – June 4, 1980) was a Filipino judge. He served as the Attorney General#Philippines, Attorney General of the Philippines from 1927 to 1932, as part of the American colonial Insular Government. H ...

, representing Philippines * Kestutis Stasys Jakstas as Major General I.M. Zaryanov, representing the Soviet Union *

William Hope William Hope may refer to: * William Johnstone Hope (1766–1831), prominent and controversial British Royal Navy officer and politician * Sir William Hope, 14th Baronet (1819–1898), British Army officer * William Hope (VC) (1834–1909), Scottis ...

John P. Higgins John Patrick Higgins (February 19, 1893 – August 2, 1955) was an officer in the United States Navy, chemist, attorney, and U.S. Representative from Massachusetts. Higgins was born in Boston, Massachusetts, where he attended the public s ...

, representing the United States Other cast *

as General

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. He served with dis ...

as Eta Harich-Schneider *

as Michio Takeyama *

Jules Knight Julian "Jules" Knight (né Kaye; born 22 September 1981) is an English actor and singer. He is best known for being a member of the British vocal group Blake and his portrayal of Harry Tressler in the medical drama ''Holby City''. He left Blak ...

as Quentin-Quentin Baker *

as the voice of the narrator

Production

The miniseries was proposed by Japanese public broadcaster NHK. The company signed a co-production deal with FATT Productions. At the OMDC's International Financing Forum at TIFF 2013, NHK and FATT officials discussed co-producing the series with Don Carmody Television. Netflix gained streaming rights for the series by providing financing through Don Carmody Television.

Filming

The series was filmed in Japan and

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

in 2015.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 4040530 Japanese television miniseries World War II television drama series International Military Tribunal for the Far East Television shows set in Tokyo Canadian English-language television shows 2016 Japanese television series debuts 2016 Japanese television series endings NHK television dramas 2010s Canadian television miniseries 2016 Canadian television series debuts 2016 Canadian television series endings Dutch television miniseries 2016 Dutch television series debuts 2016 Dutch television series endings