Diplomats in the dark
QUESTION
What ever happened to the two Japanese diplomats who were holding discussions with the US State Department when Pearl Harbour was attacked in 1941?
BEFORE the Pearl Harbour attack of December 7, 1941, the Americans had imposed a trade embargo on Japan, outlawing the importation of resources vital to its war effort.
On November 26, 1941, Secretary of State Cordell Hull dispatched what became known as the Hull Note to the Japanese, demanding its withdrawal from Indochina and China.
This was the trigger for Japan’s decision to cross the Pacific and launch the attack resulting in the deaths of more than 2,400 Americans. At the very moment of the attack, Admiral Kichisaburo Nomura, the Japanese ambassador to the US, and Saburo Kurusu, the special envoy, were waiting outside Hull’s office to notify him of a breakdown in negotiations between the two countries.
They had not been informed of the attack and President Roosevelt advised Hull not to tell them about it. But Hull’s anger got the better of him and Nomura and Kurusu fled the office in astonishment. Later that afternoon, they returned to deliver Japan’s declaration of war. They were interned at Hot Springs, Virginia, until June 1942 when they were brought to Mozambique on the passenger liner Gripsholm to be exchanged for Joseph Grew, the US ambassador to Japan, and other American prisoners of war.
Following the Allied victory in Japan, the American military tribunal of February 1946 decided not to prosecute Kurusu or Nomura because it was obvious they had been unaware of the Pearl Harbour attack. Nomura had been popular in the American diplomatic service. He had held several important posts, including being a member of Japan’s delegation at the Versailles Peace Conference, 1919-20.
After the war, he became president of the Victor Company of Japan, JVC, the electronics firm, and played a role in the country’s post-war rearmament. He died in Tokyo in 1964. Kurusu first went to the US in 1914 as the Japanese Consul in Chicago. During his six years there, he married an American, Alice Jay Little, with whom he had a son and two daughters. He subsequently held diplomatic posts in Chile, Italy, Germany and Peru. On September 27, 1940, he signed the Tripartite Pact in Berlin on behalf of the Japanese Empire, entering a ten-year military and economic treaty with Germany and Italy.
After the war, Kurusu was a visiting professor at Tokyo University and lived on his country estate with Alice. He died in 1954.
Simon Arnold, Pembrokeshire.
QUESTION
What British navy ship was the last to ‘hoist the battle flags and engage the enemy’?
THE last time a British navy ship opened fire on an enemy was in the blockade of Misrata, Libya.
On May 12, 2011, HMS Liverpool, a 4,800 tonne Type 42 destroyer, was targeted by pro-Gaddafi forces, who fired rocket and artillery batteries from the shore. The crew responded with the destroyer’s 4.5in gun, taking out several targets.
The last battle involving British navy ships against a rival navy was the Battle of Bubiyan, January 29 to February 2, 1991, during the
Iraq War. In the opening days of Operation Desert Storm, ships and aircraft from Britain, the US and Canada intercepted the Iraqi navy as it tried to flee into Iran.
The resulting battle in the waters between the Shatt al-Arab waterway and Bubiyan Island was one of the most lopsided naval engagements in history. The Iraqi navy was wiped out. British naval ships weren’t involved directly. Most of the damage was done by Lynx helicopter with Sea Skua missiles.
The last action of the Iraqi navy was to fire a Silkworm missile from an inland launcher at the battleship USS Missouri.
It was intercepted mid-flight by a Sea Dart missile from the British destroyer HMS Gloucester, a Type 42 frigate, and destroyed — the first time a ship-launched, antiaircraft missile intercepted an incoming enemy missile in combat at sea by any navy. The last time British naval forces engaged an enemy ship was a minor engagement during the Falklands War.
At the Battle of Seal Cove of May 22, 1982, frigates HMS Brilliant (Type 22) and HMS Yarmouth (Type 12) attempted to seize Argentine navy coaster ARA Monsunen. HMS Yarmouth fired its 4.5in deck gun, but the coaster evaded capture by deliberately running aground.
Gerard Brown, East Lothian.
QUESTION
Is the fandango the most difficult dance to perform?
THE fandango is an exuberant Spanish courtship dance, which can be as easy or as difficult as you like. Though it is danced in triple time, there are many more technically challenging dances, such as ballet.
Performed by a couple, the fandango begins slowly, with the rhythm marked by castanets, hand clapping, finger snapping and foot stamping, the tempo gradually increasing.
It is an expression of passion, and the partners tease, challenge and pursue each other with steps and gestures.
Sometimes the fandango is danced by two men as a contest of athleticism and skill. The first dancer sets the rhythm and steps, the second picks up the footwork and elaborates.
To become a professional ballet dancer, you need to begin training at the age of six or seven. Moving as if you are weightless is a carefully crafted illusion. Strength is combined with a grace that comes from perfecting moves through endless repetition.
Female dancers must balance strength with a slim, lithe figure. These dedicated athletes do an unbelievably hard job.
Ballet can break a body. Many dancers’ careers are over by the time they reach their mid-20s and some suffer life-long disabilities.
Another technically difficult dance is the Brazilian Capoeira. Developed by African slaves at the beginning of the 16th century, it combines dance, acrobatics and music.
It’s breathtaking just to watch and needs an incredible level of athleticism to perform.
Justine Mahon, Roxburghs.
IS THERE a question to which you have always wanted to know the answer? Or do you know the answer to a question raised here? Send your questions and answers to: Charles Legge, Answers To Correspondents, Irish Daily Mail, Embassy House, Herbert Park Lane, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4. You can also fax them to 0044 1952 510906 or you can email them to charles.legge@dailymail.ie. A selection will be published but we are not able to enter into individual correspondence.