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The tribunal was established to implement the Cairo Declaration, the Potsdam Declaration, the Moscow Conference and the Instrument of Surrender. In December 1945, 11 countries, including China, decided to participate in the Military Tribunal for the Far East. With each country choosing its own judge and prosecutor, China’s Mei Ju-ao and Hsiang Che-chun, were elected as judge and prosecutor at the Tribunal. During the more than two-and-a-half-year tribunal, though China initially formulated a list of war criminals consisting of 33 people, 28 Japanese military and political leaders were charged “Class A” crimes of participating in a joint conspiracy to start and wage war, committing war crimes and crimes against humanity. Japanese Emperor Hirohito, who some observers thought should have been tried for his tacit approval of the Japanese policy during the war, was not prosecuted.