@article{ART003285230},
author={Yungjin Lee},
title={Escaping from Evil: The Fushun War Criminals Management Centre Experiment and Postwar Japan’s Embrace of Pacifism},
journal={Asia Review},
issn={2234-0386},
year={2025},
volume={15},
number={3},
pages={249-285}
TY - JOUR
AU - Yungjin Lee
TI - Escaping from Evil: The Fushun War Criminals Management Centre Experiment and Postwar Japan’s Embrace of Pacifism
JO - Asia Review
PY - 2025
VL - 15
IS - 3
PB - 아시아연구소
SP - 249
EP - 285
SN - 2234-0386
AB - Following the defeat of Imperial Japan, a significant number of Japanese military personnel were designated as war criminals and subjected to judicial proceedings. Among these, soldiers stationed in Manchuria were detained in Siberia, and subsequently, 969 of them were transferred to the newly established People’s Republic of China by the Soviet Union, in 1950.
This study seeks to examine, from an intellectual-historical perspective, the rare and ideologically significant experiment in confession (injwe, 認罪) and rehabilitation (gaengsaeng, 更生) conducted over a six-year period (1950–1956) at the Fushun War Criminals Management Centre under the administration of the PRC. Furthermore, it explores how the experiences undergone within this institution shaped the lives and ideological orientations of these former war criminals upon their repatriation to Japan.
The Chinese state’s policy toward Japanese war criminals has elicited both laudatory and critical interpretations―ranging from the characterization of the process as “the miracle of Fushun” in terms of moral re-education, to more skeptical appraisals that dismiss it as a case of ideological indoctrination or “brainwashing.” This article engages with these divergent interpretations, critically reassessing the central role of forgiveness within the practice of confession implemented at Fushun.
By tracing the trajectory of these individuals beyond their release―particularly their postwar reflections on wartime culpability and their subsequent embrace of anti-war pacifism―this study argues that the Fushun experiment was not merely a historical anomaly but was instead a case of enduring philosophical and ideological significance. Ultimately, this paper aims to reinterpret the processes of confession and forgiveness within a broader intellectual-historical framework, shedding light on their transformative potential in the aftermath of war.
KW - Fushun War Criminals Management Centre;forgiveness;;brainwashing;anti-war pacifism
DO -
UR -
ER -
Yungjin Lee. (2025). Escaping from Evil: The Fushun War Criminals Management Centre Experiment and Postwar Japan’s Embrace of Pacifism. Asia Review, 15(3), 249-285.
Yungjin Lee. 2025, "Escaping from Evil: The Fushun War Criminals Management Centre Experiment and Postwar Japan’s Embrace of Pacifism", Asia Review, vol.15, no.3 pp.249-285.
Yungjin Lee "Escaping from Evil: The Fushun War Criminals Management Centre Experiment and Postwar Japan’s Embrace of Pacifism" Asia Review 15.3 pp.249-285 (2025) : 249.
Yungjin Lee. Escaping from Evil: The Fushun War Criminals Management Centre Experiment and Postwar Japan’s Embrace of Pacifism. 2025; 15(3), 249-285.
Yungjin Lee. "Escaping from Evil: The Fushun War Criminals Management Centre Experiment and Postwar Japan’s Embrace of Pacifism" Asia Review 15, no.3 (2025) : 249-285.
Yungjin Lee. Escaping from Evil: The Fushun War Criminals Management Centre Experiment and Postwar Japan’s Embrace of Pacifism. Asia Review, 15(3), 249-285.
Yungjin Lee. Escaping from Evil: The Fushun War Criminals Management Centre Experiment and Postwar Japan’s Embrace of Pacifism. Asia Review. 2025; 15(3) 249-285.
Yungjin Lee. Escaping from Evil: The Fushun War Criminals Management Centre Experiment and Postwar Japan’s Embrace of Pacifism. 2025; 15(3), 249-285.
Yungjin Lee. "Escaping from Evil: The Fushun War Criminals Management Centre Experiment and Postwar Japan’s Embrace of Pacifism" Asia Review 15, no.3 (2025) : 249-285.
