Yokota Yutaka Accomplishments

Yokota Yutaka, a young Japanese man at the start of World War II, felt a calling to fight for his country. The government indoctrinated its citizens with a strong sense of nationalism from an early age. They instilled a sense of military supremacy that played a key role in how military men fought in World War II. Thousands of Japanese men alike lined up to enlist in the military, those selected were proud, while others felt that they were failures to their country. Yutaka, like many others, eagerly joined the Navy to pursue his dream of honoring his country. In an interview with Joseph Harrington, Yutaka talks of his time serving in the war. When Yutaka was 16, he remembered hearing about the men who died in Pearl Harbor and thought, “I wouldn’t mind dying like that. I was a militaristic youth. I’d …show more content…
Yutaka’s friend, Noguchi was rejected from the Navy troop. Upon finding out that he was not selected, he fought to change the commands minds. Yutaka described that, “he dashed up to our squad commander, a desperate look in his eyes…he was in tears... in the end he wasn’t allowed to go. But he tried so hard to be one of us.” Noguchi’s dream to fight and die serving the country was over, however Yutaka still had that chance. Dying in combat while protecting the nation was considered the greatest honor. Most Japanese citizens would do anything for the chance to obtain this honor. Yutaka discussed the importance to succeed in combat. While there was pride in death, there was even greater pride in success. Yutaka believed that, “you must succeed…That’s all that I can accept. If I do not succeed, I cannot die in peace. Even if my life is gone, I will not rest.” Unfortunately, Yutaka never believed he was successful in the war. His Naval Kaiten never had the chance to launch and without making an impact in the war, he felt as though he had