| Kazuo Sakamaki | |
|---|---|
| November 8, 1918 - November 29, 1999 | |
| Place of birth | Japan |
| Allegiance | Empire of Japan |
| Service/branch | Imperial Japanese Navy |
| Battles/wars | Attack on Pearl Harbor |
Kazuo Sakamaki (酒巻和男 Sakamaki Kazuo, November 8, 1918 - November 29, 1999) was a Japanese naval officer. He was one of ten sailors (5 officers and 5 petty officers) who volunteered to attack Pearl Harbor in a Ko-hyoteki class midget submarine. Of the ten, the other nine were killed (including the other crewman in his sub, Kiyoshi Inagaki) and Sakamaki was captured by the Americans, becoming the first prisoner held by the Americans in World War II. Sakamaki had set an explosive charge below his submarine which had been trapped on Waimanalo Beach. When the explosives failed to go off, he swam to the bottom of the submarine to investigate the cause of the failure and became unconscious to a lack of oxygen. When he awoke, he found himself in a hospital under American armed guard. Thus, Sakamaki unwittingly became the first Japanese prisoner of war. After the war, he found work with the Toyota Motor Corp. and became president of its Brazilian subsidiary in 1969. In 1983, he returned to Japan and worked for Toyota before retiring in 1987. In 1991, Sakamaki attended a historical conference in Texas and was reunited with his submarine for the first time in 50 years.
