Of the 5,700 Japanese individuals indicted for Class B war crimes , 984 were sentenced to death ; 475 received life sentences ; 2,944 were given more limited prison terms ; 1,018 were acquitted ; and 279 were never brought to trial or not sentenced . The number of death sentences by country is as follows : the Netherlands 236 , Great Britain 223 , Australia 153 , China 149 , United States 140 , France 26 , and Philippines 17 . The Soviet Union and Chinese Communist forces also held trials of Japanese war criminals . The Khabarovsk War Crime Trials held by the Soviets tried and found guilty some members of Japan 's bacteriological and chemical warfare unit , also known as Unit 731 . However , those who surrendered to the Americans were never brought to trial . As Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers , MacArthur gave immunity to Shiro Ishii and all members of the bacteriological research units in exchange for germ warfare data based on human experimentation . On May 6 , 1947 , he wrote to Washington that " additional data , possibly some statements from Ishii probably can be obtained by informing Japanese involved that information will be retained in intelligence channels and will not be employed as ' War Crimes ' evidence . " The deal was concluded in 1948
Unit 731
Unit 731
International Military Tribunal for the Far East