The first full text retrieval data base of the documents on the Tokyo Trial in the world released in Beijing

On January 6, 2016, the first full text retrieval data base of its kind in the whole world, the Data Base of Documents on the Tokyo Trial, was released in Beijing.

Participating guests including Peng Weiguo, the Deputy Director of Shanghai Municipal Press and Publication Bureau, Mei Xiaokan, researcher at SJTU Research Center for the Tokyo Trial and the daughter of Chinese Judge Mei Ru’ao, Cheng Zhaoqi, Professor and Director of SJTU Research Center for the Tokyo Trial, Han Jianmin, the Director of Shanghai Jiao Tong University Press, Ying Zhongfeng, the General Manager for China of Elsevier, and other honored guests witnessed the launch together.

Attendants spoke highly of the released database. Researching, collating and publishing the key documents on the Tokyo Trial has made great contributions both historically and realistically. The Database, the world first of its kind, has conserved the precious documents and materials including photos, files, recordings, and videos related to the Tokyo Trial by digital means. The Database, which is research-oriented, authoritative, applicable, and safe, provides an all-included platform with solid foundations in real materials to researchers both at home and abroad.

The Data Base of Documents on the Tokyo Trial collected the trial records and evidence documents at the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, the interrogation records at the International Prosecution Section, as well as other related historical photos, recordings and videos. The first phase has collected related materials of 600 million words, including 50,000 pages, 500 million words of Transcripts of the Proceedings of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East (in English), about 700 photos of the tribunal and figures, 50 minutes of videos (6500 minutes in total after post production). All the documents have been restored, collated, scanned, elucidated, indexed, in order to make sure of the revelation and multiple retrieval. The next step of the construction of the database is to contrast all materials in Chinese, Japanese, and English.