Russia's invasion of Ukraine takes Yasuhiko Ito back to after World War II, when the former Soviet Union took him — a disarmed soldier of the Imperial Japanese Army — to what is now Bakhmut for forced labor. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09/17/japan/history/japanese-internee-in-ukraine-after-wwii/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #history #wwii #russia #ukraine #forcedlabor #imperialjapanesearmy
Faced with aging operators and financial strains, some privately run World War II museums in Japan have decided to close, prompting experts to warn that valuable wartime documents and artifacts could be lost. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09/03/japan/private-war-museums-face-challenges-to-survive/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #wwii #imperialjapanesearmy #museums
A great-grandson of Tome Torihama, who was a beloved motherly figure to kamikaze suicide attack pilots in World War II, is dedicated to preserving the stories of the pilots. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/20/japan/beloved-figure-to-kamikaze-pilots/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #wwii #kagoshima #chiran #imperialjapanesearmy
A former teacher who received guerilla warfare training during World War II has this to say at the ripe old age of 102: War must never repeated. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/14/japan/japan-wwii-soldier-secret-training-guerrilla-warfare/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #wwii #imperialjapanesearmy
From hidden family records to national archives, a son uncovers a chilling wartime legacy. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/13/japan/history/unit-1644-nanjing/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #history #wwii #imperialjapanesearmy #biologicalweapons#unit731 #unit1644 #china
It has been 80 years, but Hideo Shimizu still remembers the 4½ months he spent with Unit 731, the biological and chemical warfare unit of the now-defunct Imperial Japanese Army, like they were yesterday. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/13/japan/history/japan-wwii-unit-731/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #history #wwii #imperialjapanesearmy #biologicalweapons#unit731
A growing number of people are sharing how their fathers — former Imperial Japanese servicemen — underwent complete changes due to war, prompting the government to launch an initiative to document such realities. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/13/japan/society/former-japanese-soldiers-war-trauma/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #society #wwii #mhlw #mentalhealth #imperialjapanesearmy
The release of a Chinese film themed on the now-defunct Imperial Japanese Army's Unit 731 has been delayed in China without explanation. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/01/japan/unit-731-film-release-delayed/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #wwii #chinajapanrelations #china #imperialjapanesearmy #biologicalweapons
Okunoshima, an island in the Seto Inland Sea known for being inhabited by around 500 to 600 wild rabbits, has a dark past as the home to a poison gas plant during World War II. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/07/30/japan/seto-inland-sea-island-poison-gas-plant-wwii/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #wwii #okunoshima #hiroshima #imperialjapanesearmy
A researcher is calling for the remaining buildings of a military factory in operation during World War II in the city of Osaka to be preserved as a "negative legacy." https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/07/30/japan/osaka-arsenal-negative-legacy/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #wwii #osaka #imperialjapanesearmy
A 92-year-old man who was inspired as a boy by a WWII-era commando has come to question Japan's wartime actions. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/07/14/japan/history/giretsu-kuteitai-airborne-unit-wwii/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #history #kumamoto #okinawa #fukuoka #wwii #giretsukuteitai #imperialjapanesearmy #usmilitary