Latest news with #kamikaze
The Guardian
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Kamikaze: An Untold History review – a bewilderingly brutal act of collective desperation recalled
Going by the raw numbers, Japan's use of kamikaze pilots in the dying days of the second world war was an effective military action. While the country lost almost 4,000 of its men by asking them to fly planes laden with explosives into enemy ships – a task that entailed certain death – the losses on the other side were closer to 7,000. But it was a bewildering act of collective desperation that still has the ability to shock, and tells us a lot about the futility of modern warfare and the power of mass hysteria in times of conflict. Kamikaze: An Untold History is a documentary by the Japanese public broadcaster NHK that could have been a very powerful film at 60 minutes but is still impactful at an exhaustive hour and a half. It starts with the first suicide pilots who flew in October 1944, as the Americans advanced inexorably across the Pacific towards mainland Japan. The programme is determined to commemorate individuals who perished, beginning with 20-year-old Hirota Yukinobu. There is clear footage of his plane hitting an aircraft carrier and creating a large explosion on deck, having taken a hit to the wing on its descent: we can well imagine the last moments of a young man's life being filled with fear of failure and perhaps the physical pain of fire in the cockpit, followed by a final split-second of realisation that his mission had been accomplished. What is even more extraordinary was what happened once the first wave of kamikaze pilots had flown. Newsreel propaganda, shown in cinemas nationwide, lauded the men as something beyond heroic: 'With your departure,' said one proud announcer, 'you have joined the gods.' It was thought that a nation that was willing to resort to such measures could not possibly lose, and that if Emperor Hirohito were forced to negotiate for peace, this show of strength would enable a more favourable deal. The men became superstars. The home village of 19-year-old Terashima Tadamasa erected a stone monument to his memory, and local dignitaries attended his funeral. In one of several interviews recorded in the 2000s and 2010s with first-hand witnesses, who have since died, the sister of 23-year-old Ishii Mitoshi recalls how hordes of well-wishing strangers made it hard for her family to grieve for him. Pilots had their final written statements read out on national radio ('Mother, are you well? I will not squander the 21 years of life you have given me!'). As the slogan '100 million kamikaze' became popular, schoolchildren wore headbands expressing support for the men, while adults who were not physically fit to serve often proved to be particularly fervent amateur agitators, urging the kamikaze on. The film is a straightforward historical account, so it doesn't debate the spiky moral and philosophical conundrums the kamikaze phenomenon raises. War requires the mass sacrifice of human life, often in the form of strategies that will certainly lead to heavy losses for your own side. The emotional pull of last year's American-made second world war drama Masters of the Air, for example, was provided largely by the idea of men being sent on missions from which many would not return. What is the logic in feeling inspired by the selflessness of soldiers who had a tiny chance of survival, but horrified by those who had none? Clear answers are not to be found here but, as we gaze at photographs of squadrons of men under the age of 25, whose whole adult lives were rehearsals for their death, we have to ask why. The slightly baggy back half of the film does give us more to chew on, as it looks at those who weren't selected, or who volunteered with some reluctance. Documents are found that suggest the Japanese navy rejected some men's applications if they had scored top marks in aptitude tests: at a time when few Japanese families could afford higher education, university graduates saw their peers become kamikaze pilots and wondered whether the country really wanted to turn its brightest minds into ammunition. More distressing than the tales of those whose privilege didn't protect them are reports of kamikaze mania driving men of all backgrounds to sign up unwillingly. We hear how they felt that the political climate gave them no choice: the dynamic that is always in place during conflicts, where it is treasonous to criticise the war effort, crushed any dissent. The kamikaze strategy gave Japanese citizens hope. The film ends by glimpsing the atomic bombs hitting Hiroshima and Nagasaki, brutal events that showed that hope to be false. Whether that made the gestures of the kamikaze pilots more or less noble than any other war death is a question that can't ever be answered, but this film shines new light on it. Kamikaze: An Untold History aired on BBC Four and is available on iPlayer.
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
TV tonight: Japan's kamikaze pilots and why they were impelled to sacrifice themselves
9pm, BBC FourIt is still absolutely shocking to see footage of the kamikaze attacks that Japan operated for 10 months at the end of the second world war. Nearly 4,000 Japanese pilots died this way and 7,000 allied military personnel were killed. Why did they push this strategy? And why were people so willing to do it? Takayuki Oshima's monumental film uses 15 years of research and interviews with witnesses, family members and former pilots to explore this massive system of suicide attack. Hollie Richardson 7pm, BBC TwoIrvine Welsh, the author of cult 90s hit Trainspotting, is back with a new novel and a new philosophy. He shares them here with Katie Razzall, over the course of a wide-ranging interview: 'We're living in a world so full of hate and poison now, it's time we focused more on love as an antidote.' Ellen E Jones 8pm, Channel 4How can you keep your senses sharpened as you grow older? A 75-year-old perfumer, an 86-year-old jazz musician and a 68-year-old biathlete reckon they have smell, hearing and eyesight covered respectively. The late Michael Mosley met them to put their tricks to the test. HR 9pm, BBC Two 'I personally love Neanderthals.' More from this excellent origin story, as Ella Al-Shamahi makes the case that our much-maligned forebears were far from the knuckle-draggers of popular myth. And they're closer than we think in temporal terms, too, as a fossil shows a modern human had a Neanderthal ancestor only a few generations before their time. Phil Harrison Sign up to What's On Get the best TV reviews, news and features in your inbox every Monday after newsletter promotion 9pm, ITV1It has been a tame affair so far – what with no shark seriously injuring a C-lister – but the fear factor is notched up a bit as the famous faces embark on a cut-off raft in shark-ridden waters. Is this the moment Lenny Henry sends a strongly worded message to his agent? HR 11.10pm, BBC OneNew season, new entity. Witch Rowan (Alexandra Daddario) has birthed a monster – literally: the malevolent demon Lasher reincarnated in baby form, as evinced by his terrifying growth spurts and dark appetites. Meanwhile, Moira Mayfair arrives seeking answers about her sister Tessa's death. Ali Catterall
CBC
22-07-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Russia touts strike drones made in factory on TV, where teens appear to be working on them
A Russian factory, described by its director as the world's biggest maker of strike drones, has been shown on the Russian army's TV channel with teenagers helping make kamikaze drones to attack Ukraine. The footage, in a documentary film broadcast by the Zvezda channe l on Sunday, showed hundreds of large black completed Geran-2 suicide drones in rows inside the secretive facility, which has been targeted by Ukrainian long-range drones. Ukraine says Russia has used the Geran drones to terrorize and kill civilians in locations including its capital, Kyiv, where residents often shelter in metro stations during attacks. Russia says its drone and missile strikes target only military or military-related targets, and it denies deliberately targeting civilians — more than 13,000 of whom have been killed in Ukraine since the all-out war began in February 2022 after Russia invaded its neighbour, the United Nations says. Zvezda said the Alabuga factory, in Russia's Tatarstan region, invited school pupils to study at a college that the factory runs nearby once they had completed ninth grade so that they could study drone manufacturing there and then work at the factory when they had finished college. Young workers shown inside factory Young workers, including teenagers, were shown with their faces blurred out, studying computer screens or making and testing individual components, or assembling drones. Timur Shagivaleyev, the factory's general director, did not disclose detailed production figures. But he told Zvezda the initial plan had been to produce "several thousand Geran-2 drones" and that the factory was now producing nine times more than that. He did not say what period the figures referred to. A Russian think-tank close to the government suggested last month that Russia's drone production had jumped by 16.9 per cent in May compared with the previous month after Russian President Vladimir Putin called for output to be stepped up. Putin said in April that more than 1.5 million drones of various types had been produced last year but that Russian troops fighting on the front line in Ukraine needed more. More and more drones Both sides have deployed drones on a huge scale, using them to spot and hit targets not only on the battlefield but way beyond the front lines. Zvezda said the Alabuga factory had its own drone testing ground and showed rows of parked U.S. RAM pickup trucks carrying Geran-2 drones. It also showed one of them launching a drone. In May, Russia paraded combat drones that its forces use in the war in Ukraine on Moscow's Red Square in what state TV said was a first. The design of the Geran-2, which has a known range of at least 1,500 kilometres, originated in Iran, where an earlier version was made. They have been used to target Ukrainian energy infrastructure. Zvezda set the documentary to upbeat music, part of its mission to keep Russians interested in and supportive of the war. The factory is part of the so-called Alabuga Special Economic Zone, near the town of Yelabuga, which is more than 1,000 kilometres from the border with Ukraine.
South China Morning Post
22-07-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Inside the ‘world's biggest' factory making Russian kamikaze drones to attack Ukraine
A Russian factory, described by its director as the world's biggest maker of strike drones, has been shown on the Russian army's TV channel with teenagers helping make kamikaze drones to attack Ukraine. The footage, in a documentary film broadcast by the Zvezda channel on Sunday, showed hundreds of large black completed Geran-2 suicide drones in rows inside the secretive facility, which has been targeted by Ukrainian long-range drones. Ukraine says Russia has used the Geran drones to terrorise and kill civilians in locations including the capital Kyiv, where residents often shelter in metro stations during attacks. Russia says its drone and missile strikes target only military or military-related targets and denies deliberately targeting civilians, more than 13,000 of whom have been killed in Ukraine since the war began in 2022, the United Nations says. A Russian drone attacks a building in Kyiv, Ukraine. File photo: AP Zvezda said the Alabuga factory, in Russia's Tatarstan region, invited school pupils to study at a college the factory runs nearby once they had completed ninth grade (aged 14-15) so that they could study drone manufacturing there and then work at the factory when they had finished college. Young workers, including teenagers, were shown with their faces blurred out, studying computer screens or making and testing individual components, or assembling drones.
Japan Times
22-07-2025
- Politics
- Japan Times
Russian TV shows teenagers making arms at 'world's biggest drone factory'
A factory in Russia, described by its director as the world's biggest maker of strike drones, has been shown on the Russian army's TV channel with teenagers helping make kamikaze drones to attack Ukraine. The footage, in a documentary film broadcast by the Zvezda channel on Sunday, showed hundreds of large black completed Geran-2 suicide drones in rows inside the secretive facility, which has been targeted by Ukrainian long-range drones. Ukraine says Russia has used the Geran drones to terrorize and kill civilians in locations including the capital Kyiv, where residents often shelter in metro stations during attacks. Russia says its drone and missile strikes target only military or military-related targets and denies deliberately targeting civilians, more than 13,000 of whom have been killed in Ukraine since the war began in 2022, the United Nations says. Zvezda said the Alabuga factory, in Russia's Tatarstan region, invited school pupils to study at a college the factory runs nearby once they had completed ninth grade, at age 14 to 15, so that they could study drone manufacturing there and then work at the factory when they had finished college. Young workers, including teenagers, were shown with their faces blurred out, studying computer screens or making and testing individual components, or assembling drones. Timur Shagivaleyev, the factory's general director, did not disclose detailed production figures. But he told Zvezda the initial plan had been to produce "several thousand Geran-2 drones" and that the factory was now producing nine times more than that. He did not say what period the figures referred to. A Russian think tank close to the government last month suggested Russia's drone production had jumped by 16.9% in May compared to the previous month after Russian President Vladimir Putin called for output to be stepped up. Putin said in April that more than 1.5 million drones of various types had been produced last year, but that Russian troops fighting on the front line in Ukraine needed more. Both sides have deployed drones on a huge scale, using them to spot and hit targets not only on the battlefield but way beyond the front lines. Zvezda said the Alabuga factory had its own drone testing ground and showed rows of parked U.S. RAM pickup trucks carrying Geran-2 drones. It also showed one of them launching a drone. In May, Russia paraded combat drones that its forces use in the war in Ukraine on Moscow's Red Square in what state TV said was a first. The design of the Geran-2, which has a known range of at least 1,500 kilometers, originated in Iran where an earlier version was made. They have been used to target Ukrainian energy infrastructure. Zvezda set the documentary to upbeat music, part of its mission to keep Russians interested in and supportive of the war. The factory is part of the so-called Alabuga Special Economic Zone, which is near the town of Yelabuga, which is over 1,000 km from the border with Ukraine.
