Kazuo Tsunoda (角田 和男, Tsunoda Kazuo; October 11, 1918 – February 14, 2013) was an officer and ace fighter pilot in the…Kazuo Tsunoda (角田 和男, Tsunoda Kazuo; October 11, 1918 – February 14, 2013) was an officer and ace fighter pilot in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during the Second Sino-Japanese War and Pacific Campaign of World War II. In his combat career, Tsunoda was officially credited with destroying nine enemy aircraft. From May 1942 to May 1943, Tsunoda participated in the New Guinea Campaign, Solomon Islands and Guadalcanal Campaigns as a member of the 2nd Air Group and 582 Air Group. During the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal on 14 November 1942, Tsunoda was shot down near the Russell Islands while covering an army transport convoy delivering troops to Guadalcanal. Tsunoda was rescued by the destroyer Amagiri. In November 1944, while stationed at Cebu in the Philippines, Tsunoda volunteered as a kamikaze pilot. He was unable, however, to find any enemy ships to attack. Later, he escaped the Philippines to Japanese-occupied Taiwan after the American landings and survived the war. He was a farmer in Ibaraki prefecture after the war. He died on February 14, 2013.
Shirō Ishii (Japanese: 石井 四郎, Hepburn: Ishii Shirō; [iɕiː ɕiɾoː]; 25 June 1892 – 9 October 1959) was a Japanese…Shirō Ishii (Japanese: 石井 四郎, Hepburn: Ishii Shirō; [iɕiː ɕiɾoː]; 25 June 1892 – 9 October 1959) was a Japanese biological weapons specialist, microbiologist and army medical officer who served as the director of Unit 731, the largest biological warfare and chemical warfare unit of the Imperial Japanese Army. Ishii led the development and application of biological weapons at Unit 731 in the puppet state of Manchukuo during the Second Sino-Japanese War from 1937 to 1945. This included the Battle of Changde, the Kaimingjie germ weapon attack, and the planned Operation Cherry Blossoms at Night biological attack against the United States, which intended to spread a weaponized bubonic plague. Ishii and his colleagues also engaged in human experimentation, resulting in the deaths of thousands of subjects, most of them civilians or prisoners of war. Ishii was later granted immunity in the International Military Tribunal for the Far East by the United States government in exchange for information and research for the U.S. biological warfare program.
Minoru Ōta (大田 実, Ōta Minoru; 7 April 1891 – 13 June 1945) was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World…Minoru Ōta (大田 実, Ōta Minoru; 7 April 1891 – 13 June 1945) was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II, and the final commander of the Japanese naval forces defending the Oroku Peninsula during the Battle of Okinawa.
Takeshi Takashina (高品 彪, Takashina Takeshi; 25 January 1891 – 28 July 1944) was an Imperial Japanese Army general…Takeshi Takashina (高品 彪, Takashina Takeshi; 25 January 1891 – 28 July 1944) was an Imperial Japanese Army general during World War II. He was killed in action during the Battle of Guam.
Teiichi Suzuki (鈴木 貞一, Suzuki Teiichi; 16 December 1888 – 15 July 1989) was a lieutenant general in the Imperial…Teiichi Suzuki (鈴木 貞一, Suzuki Teiichi; 16 December 1888 – 15 July 1989) was a lieutenant general in the Imperial Japanese Army, a minister of state, and member of the House of Peers. A close associate of Hideki Tojo, he helped to plan Japan's wartime economy.