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September 19, 2025
 

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KAMIKAZE

Kunitake Toriya, a former corporal in the Imperial Japanese Army who had trained for a suicide attack mission, speaks about his wartime experiences in front of the photographs of his comrades at Tachiarai Peace Memorial Museum in Chikuzen, Fukuoka Prefecture, in June.
JAPAN
Aug 27, 2025
Destined for death, former kamikaze pilot recalls wanting to live
Kunitake Toriya yelled "Banzai" in his heart when his suicide mission was called off. Now, 80 years on, he is determined to share his story.
Kenta Torihama, 33, often describes kamikaze pilots as "human beings like us."
JAPAN
Aug 20, 2025
Passing on the stories of kamikaze pilots as 'human beings, not heroes'
Kenta Torihama, 33, says the pilots "had people they wanted to protect, and they departed (on their suicide missions) after much agony and anguish."
JAPAN
Oct 4, 2024
Masamitsu Yoshioka, last Pearl Harbor bombardier, dies at 106
"I’m ashamed that I’m the only one who survived and lived such a long life,” Yoshioka said in an interview last year.
And Instagram page posts about information about the members of the now-defunct Imperial Japanese military's suicide attack units during World War II. The screen-grab image was provided by a Tokyo-based group that aims to hold memorials for deceased members of the units.
JAPAN
Aug 11, 2024
Tokyo group begins Instagram posts on WWII suicide attack units
The public interest group was established in order to hold memorials for deceased members of the units and to pass down their stories to a new generation.
JAPAN / History
Aug 15, 2023
Museums struggle to preserve suicide notes of Japanese WWII pilots
Over time, the materials have deteriorated and the color of the ink has changed.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / THE LIVING PAST
Oct 18, 2022
Kamikaze drones in Ukraine conjure memories of Japan's own bombers
When Japan's military came calling, it was educated and sometimes bookish soldiers who were among those who volunteered for a desperate kamikaze mission.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History
Dec 4, 2020
He escaped death as a kamikaze pilot. 70 years later, he told his story.
Kazuo Odachi hid his wartime past from almost everyone, but finally published his memoirs, which were recently released in English.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Aug 15, 2020
'Memoirs of a Kamikaze': A teenage World War II pilot’s life in his own words
Kazuo Odachi's memoir about his life as a kamikaze pilot is a poignant reminder of the resilience of humanity in times of adversity.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / JAPAN TIMES GONE BY
Nov 2, 2019
Japan Times 1944: Kamikaze Attack Corps lives up to its name
Determined to follow in the footsteps of the First Special Kamikaze Attack Corps, the men of the Second Special Kamikaze Attack Corps hopped off from their base at 10 a.m. on Oct. 27 and successfully fulfilled their glorious mission of crash-diving on the enemy task force in Leyte Gulf.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Sep 9, 2017
Abe's extremism undermines Japan's interests
Alas, Japan's extremists have still not given up trying to find honor in the nation's 1945 wartime defeat and and the ideology that led to it.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jul 6, 2017
Belgian-led anti-terror sweep nets arms, five suspects linked to 'Kamikaze' biker group
Belgian prosecutors said on Wednesday four people had been detained after automatic weapons were found in house searches in Brussels as part a counterterrorism investigation overnight.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
May 3, 2015
Japan-U.S. effort to tell suicide pilots' stories dodges controversy, wins praise
JBC sits down for an interview with Dr. M.G. Sheftall of Shizuoka University about the kamikaze phenomenon and what makes this exhibition unique.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 3, 2015
Two kamikaze pilots, two late reprieves, one pacifist view
Hisashi Tezuka knew his life had been spared when he heard the Emperor's voice crackling through the wireless.
JAPAN / History
Aug 14, 2014
Surrender had lasting impact on many Japanese after war's end
Many Japanese people remember Aug. 15 as the day World War II ended. Sixty-nine years ago today, in a speech broadcast on the radio, Emperor Hirohito announced that Japan had notified the Allied powers of its acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration.
Wealthy foreign nationals picking up ultimate souvenir — a condo in Tokyo
A high-end property in the fashionable Daikanyama district in Tokyo
Japan dispatches five language education 'partners' to India
Five members of the Japan Foundation's Nihongo Partners program (front) gather at the Japanese Embassy in New Delhi on Monday.
End of U.S. de minimis exemption causes headaches for some businesses in Japan
Proxy-shopping services — companies that ship Japanese products ranging from cosmetics and snacks to limited-edition stationery on behalf of customers abroad — are already feeling the impact of the U.S. suspending de minimis exemptions.
Over 90% of low-income families in Japan struggling to feed children
Save the Children Japan domestic program chief Sonoko Kawakami speaks at a news conference in Tokyo in July. A survey conducted by the group in June has found that over 90% of low-income households with children face food insecurity.
Struggling train firm in Chiba Prefecture turns to self-deprecating humor
"Laughter is important when you're in a difficult situation," said Katsunori Takemoto, president of Choshi Electric Railway, on Aug. 5 in Choshi, Chiba Prefecture.
Japan’s front-line researchers see bright path ahead for dementia treatment
A scientist looks at scans of grains at the Memory Centre at the Department of Readaptation and Geriatrics of the University Hospital (HUG) in Geneva, Switzerland, on June 6, 2023.
Still plenty to fight for, says Japan’s team leader at worlds
Race walker Hayato Katsuki earned bronze for Japan on the opening day of the World Athletics Championships on Saturday.
Wealthy foreign nationals picking up ultimate souvenir — a condo in Tokyo
A high-end property in the fashionable Daikanyama district in Tokyo
Japanese athletes inspired by raucous home fans at World Athletics Championships
Fans cheer on the home favorites during the women's marathon at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Sunday.
Japan's major art events converge this fall
Shinji Ohmaki’s “Tokinokage” exhibited at Fuji Textile Week 2021 shows the use of fabric as art.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’
By Alex K.T. Martin

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