Japanese navy veteran recalls Pearl Harbor 75 years on

OSAKA, Japan: Navy aircraft mechanic Kuniyoshi Takimoto watched as Japanese planes roared off the aircraft carrier Hiryu to attack Pearl Harbor on Dec 7, 1941.

The shock assault 75 years ago Wednesday in Hawaii sparked patriotic celebration in Japan but left Takimoto feeling uneasy.

“I wondered if such a poor country would be all right fighting such a big one,” the former realestate agent, now 95 and one of the few Japanese participants still alive, told AFP at his home in Osaka.

This attack brought America into World War II -- though it was already well underway for Europe, and China.

This year’s anniversary comes after President Barack Obama’s visit in May to Hiroshima, the Japanese city pulverised by a US atom bomb in the closing days of the conflict.

Japan’s Pearl Harbor blitz fired up resolve in the US, with president Franklin Roosevelt declaring the day would ‘ live in infamy.’

“It was just a start ... and more or less a deceptive attack,” Takimoto said, stressing that given its surprise nature some success was virtually guaranteed.

He and other crew members were stunned when first informed of the mission after their flotilla departed towards Hawaii.

Reaching an area 460 kilometres from target, the first wave of some 180 planes, including nimble Zero fighters, roared off the Hiryu and other carriers, followed later by a second swarm.

Pilots and mechanics were phlegmatic throughout, as aircraft took off one by one minus any special rituals or even “banzai” cheers.

“What you see in kamikaze movies never happened on aircraft carriers,” Takimoto said firmly.

“We had to do our jobs, rolling the dice against death.”

Despite his misgivings about the risks of attacking the US, Takimoto was proud to support the pilots.

“We built relations of trust that went beyond words,” he said.

Japan also attacked the Philippines, Hong Kong, Guam, Singapore, Malaya, Burma and the Dutch East Indies, in one fell swoop overturning what had seemed an eternal Western colonial order.

But despite such initial success, the tide was fated to quickly turn — confirming Takimoto’s fears.

In June 1942 at the epic Battle of Midway a US aerial blitz engulfed the Hiryu in massive flames.

A thousand crew members died, while 500 survivors, including Takimoto, were barely rescued by nearby Japanese ships, a scene he described as ‘hell.’

— AFP photo Hong Kong World War II veterans (front row) and attendees, including relatives of WWII veterans, attend the Canadian Commemorative Ceremony honouring those who died during the Battle of Hong Kong and World War II, in Hong Kong’s Sai Wan War Cemetery.