MacArthur was responsible for confirming and enforcing the sentences for war crimes handed down by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East . In late 1945 , Allied military commissions in various cities of the Orient tried 5,700 Japanese , Taiwanese and Koreans for war crimes . About 4,300 were convicted , almost 1,000 sentenced to death , and hundreds given life imprisonment . The charges arose from incidents that included the Rape of Nanking , the Bataan Death March and Manila massacre . The trial in Manila of Yamashita was criticized because he was hanged for Iwabuchi 's Manila massacre , which he had not ordered and of which he was probably unaware . Iwabuchi had killed himself as the battle for Manila was ending
Manila massacre
Manila massacre
Douglas MacArthur