In November 1948, the final verdict against 28 accused Japanese war criminals was delivered in Tokyo by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East. The Tribunal, established on January 16, 1946, had begun hearings on May 3, 1946, and had been continually in session since that time. The reception of evidence had terminated on February 10, 1948, the tribunal having admitted 4,336 exhibits and 779 depositions in evidence and having heard 419 witnesses testify in court. Hearings had been in English and Japanese, with translation when required into Chinese, Russian, and French; the tribunal noted that language difficulties had materially delayed its work and had even made necessary the establishment of a Language Arbitration Board.