World · East Asia & Pacific · 2 hrs ago
Japanese veteran, 96, recalls brutal wartime training as a teenager
Muneharu Yamaguchi recalled his wartime training at a community center in Itoshima, southwestern Japan.
He was 14 when he volunteered for the Imperial Japanese Navy in 1944, without first consulting his parents.
At a naval communications school, recruits learned skills such as Morse code and semaphore, but superiors regularly beat them with a wooden stick, sometimes over poor test scores or for arbitrary reasons.
In July 1945, Yamaguchi was sent to a naval air group in Omura, Nagasaki Prefecture, where recruits learned to use radar and trained to attack tanks with explosives.
He said the plan was to carry a box of explosives into a tank’s tracks, a form of suicide attack that made him understand why recruits were called “expendables.”
Yamaguchi was in Omura on August 9, 1945, when he saw a flash behind him while talking with fellow soldiers; the account ends before describing what followed.
His recollections offer a personal account of the harsh treatment and dangerous military training imposed on young recruits near the end of the war.
Muneharu Yamaguchi, a 96-year-old former Imperial Japanese Navy volunteer, has recalled the brutal wartime training he experienced after enlisting at 14.
He described being beaten during training at the former Hofu Naval Communications School, where recruits were called “expendables.”
In July 1945, he was transferred to Omura, Nagasaki Prefecture, and trained to carry explosives and throw himself into enemy tank tracks.
Yamaguchi said he understood then what it meant to be called expendable.
He shared his account at a community center in Itoshima, Fukuoka Prefecture, before an audience of about 30 people.
- Who
- Muneharu Yamaguchi, a 96-year-old former Imperial Japanese Navy volunteer.
- What
- He recalled harsh wartime training, beatings and preparation for a suicide attack on enemy tanks.
- When
- He enlisted in September 1944 at age 14; the training he described took place during World War II.
- Where
- The training took place at Hofu Naval Communications School and in the Matsubara district of Omura, Nagasaki Prefecture. He spoke in Itoshima, Fukuoka Prefecture.
- Why
- He applied after seeing a notice recruiting navy volunteers.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Yamaguchi saw a navy volunteer recruitment notice and applied at age 14.
An acceptance notice arrived.
Yamaguchi entered the former Hofu Naval Communications School and became a seaman second class.
He was moved to the Matsubara district of Omura, Nagasaki Prefecture, where he received radar instruction and trained for attacks on enemy tanks.
Yamaguchi recalled seeing a flash of light behind him while talking with fellow soldiers in the shade of a tree.
Yamaguchi spoke about his wartime training at a community center in Itoshima.
- Age when he enlisted
- 14
- Age when he spoke
- 96
- Navy school entry
- March 25, 1945
- Transfer
- July 1945, to Matsubara district, Omura, Nagasaki Prefecture
- Audience at his talk
- About 30 people
What people are saying
If you took off the tracks, the tank could not move. This was also a kind of suicide attack. I finally understood what it meant to be called 'expendables.'
From today, you are soldiers of the Imperial Navy, and at the same time, you are expendables. Anyone who dawdles will be struck with this batter without mercy.