Evening star., 1946-05-06
Tojo and Il Others
Plead Not Guilty.
Trials Start June ;
By the Assoeioted Press

TOKYO, May 6.-Hideki TOTO and
26 other wartime leaders of Japan
today entered staccato pleas of not
guilty to charges that they un-
leashed a war of aggression and
murder in. the Pacific They were
ordered to trial June 3 despite pro-
test of their counsel that the in
| terval is too short.
The Far East tribunal, before
which the 81 appeared for their first
formal hearing, however, will con-
vene against next Monday to permit
the defense to renew it's emphatic
challenge that the court has no
jurisdiction in the pending cases.
Tojo's attorney. Ichiro Kiyose,
lost no time today in attacking the
tribunal. He charged that the
courts president, Sir William Webb
of Australia has been so biased by
his investigation of japanese atroci-
ties in New Guinea that he cannot
Judge fairly.
Motion Promptly Denied.
The motion was promptly denied
after 10-minute recess conference
With Webb absent from the discus
sion, eight of the courts other 10
justices ruled that no objection to
any member can be sustained be-
cause the courts charter provides
that members shall be Of Gen. Mac
Arthur's choosing.
| kiyose had said he intended to
object to each of the justices, but
the ruling prevented him from pur-
suing the point.
The only defendant not entering
plea of innocent was DR.. Shumei
OkaWa, who was absent from the
courtroom undergoing a sanity ex-
animation by Allied psychiatrists as
a result of his slapping Tojo's bald
head in the court last week Okawa.
former director of the East Asia
Economics Research Institute of
Manchuria, is accused Of instiga ting
the Mukden incident which set off
Japanese aggression.
Ex-War Minister Silenced.
Sadao Araki, former general and
War Minister, was the first to
plead. He stood stiffly and in
clipped japanese began a lengthy
statement; but Webb cut him off,
confining him to a simple plea of
innocent.
The defense failed to get into the
record his remarks, which were not
translated, but what he said was:
During the 10 years of my life,
I have not committed any act as
charged. On the contrary -"
One by one. the one-time generals,
diplomats and politicians asserted: ::
Not guilty to all charges"
TOTO was the next to last called,
but it was no different when he
arose. He just denied his guilt and
sat down.
After the last defendant registered
his plea, Justice Webb announced
the trial would start June 3.
Defense Protests.
Defense attorneys protested that
the staff of American attorneys to
be assigned to individual defend
oAAeo "CiS otlil Gil lOutt ITe
United States.
Webb replied that defense evi-
dence would not be presented for a
month after the prosecution COM
pleted its case and that he consid-
cred the interval sufficient.
The court president also held that
the American defense staff of eight
and the Tokyo bar now available
was sufficient to conduct the protest
against the courts jurisdiction next
Monday.
Kyose already has contended that,
under the terms of the Potsdam
Declaration, war crimes can be
charged only to persons who vio-
lated international law after the
outbreak of hostilities and that
the 11-nation court therefore can
not try high government officials
who held their posts before the war.
The indictments go back to Japa-
nese activities in Manchuria as early
| as 1923