Kazuo Sakamaki

was a Japanese naval officer who became the first prisoner of war of World War II to be captured by U.S. forces.

Early life and education Sakamaki was born in what is now part of the city of Awa, Tokushima Prefecture, the second-oldest of eight sons.

Sakamaki's submarine became trapped on a reef off Waimanalo Beach, Oahu, as it attempted to enter Pearl Harbor. The book Attack on Pearl Harbor claims that his submarine hit two coral reefs and sank. Sakamaki ordered his crewman, Kiyoshi Inagaki, to swim to shore, and Sakamaki attempted to scuttle the disabled submarine and swim to shore as well. The explosives failed to go off and Inagaki drowned.

Sakamaki made it to shore, but fell unconscious once on the beach, where he was found by a U.S. soldier, David Akui, and was taken into military custody. When he awoke, he found himself in a hospital under U.S. armed security. Sakamaki became the first Japanese prisoner of war in U.S. captivity during World War II. Japanese high command struck his name from the records and told his family that he had been killed in action. His submarine was recovered and taken on tours across the United States to encourage war bond purchases. Following his return, he received hate mail from strangers, including a letter ordering him to "immediately perform ritual suicide" and make a public apology for his shame of having been taken prisoner. Though he privately published his memoirs, he avoided discussing his wartime experiences with his family. His eldest son, Kiyoshi, however, following a conversation with his father and after visiting the family of Kiyoshi Inagaki, thought he might have been named in memory of his father's wartime comrade.

Sakamaki joined the Toyota Motor Corporation, and put his English abilities to good use while managing export sales for the company. He became president of its Brazilian subsidiary in 1969. In 1983, he returned to Japan and continued working for Toyota before retiring in 1987. Apart from his memoirs, Sakamaki refused to speak about the war until 1991, when he attended a historical conference at the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg, Texas. He reportedly cried at the conference when he was reunited with his submarine (which was on display at the museum) for the first time in 50 years.

He spent the rest of his life in Japan until his death in 1999 at the age of 81.

Publications Four Years as a Prisoner-of-War, No. 1 (Japan). Published in the United States as I Attacked Pearl Harbor.