How the First Japanese Pow Brought Toyota to America -

Toyota is one of the most recognizable automotive companies in the world. Originally founded in Japan, the company expanded across the globe and became an industry giant. As of October 2025, Toyota remained the world's largest automaker, selling more than 8.57 million vehicles and accounting for roughly 11% of global car sales. Today, the company operates 11 manufacturing facilities in the United States alone. Before World War II, American automakers such as Ford and General Motors had already established manufacturing plants in Japan as well as in Germany, countries that would soon become enemies in the coming conflict. The war that followed was ferocious and cost millions of lives. In its aftermath, it seemed unlikely that close industrial relationships between former enemies would return. Yet, the path that eventually brought Toyota into the American market began during World War II itself. The origins of that relationship trace back to the attack on Pearl Harbor and to a single Japanese naval officer whose life took an unexpected turn after that day. How did Toyota come to the United States? Who was the man behind such a bold move? What is his story? Hello, I'm Colin Heaton, former history professor, Army and Marine Corps veteran, and welcome to this episode of Forgotten History. Beginning of the toughest 26 days in Marine Corps history. Kazuo Sakamaki was born November 8, 1918, in what is now part of the city of Awa, Tokushima Prefecture, the second oldest of eight sons. He was a graduate of the 68th class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy in 1940, and he was assigned to the Midget Submarine Force. Due to the fact that he had several siblings and was not an only son, meaning his death would not end the family line. When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Sunday, December 7, 1941, they did so with both air and sea assets. Torpedo and dive bombers hit Battleship Row, while Mitsubishi A6M Zero strafed Schofield Barracks and neighboring Wheeler Airfield to destroy aircraft on the ground. But beneath the waves, Midget submarines were also deployed in their first combat test. However, there were disagreements within the Japanese Naval Command structure. Flight Commander Mitsuo Fuchida, who led the aerial assault, opposed including the submarines since he believed they would compromise the operation's secrecy if they were detected entering the harbor before the attack. His concern proved valid when the World War I Aerodestroyer USS Ward located and sank one of the submarines at 6.37 am, more than an hour before the first bombs fell. However, American commanders dismissed the Ward's report as a false alarm. Sakamaki was one of five officers and five petty officers sent to attack Pearl Harbor in five two-man Gohyoteki-class midget submarines. The 78-foot submarines carried two torpedoes and a two-man crew each that was sent to enter the harbor before dawn, hide on the ocean floor, then surface during the aerial attack to fire their torpedoes at the battleships. Sakamaki commanded HA-19, launched from submarine I-24 at 3.30 am, with Petty Officer 2nd Class Kiyoshi Inagaki. Their submarine's gyro compass failed and navigation became guesswork. Sakamaki had to expose the periscope repeatedly to obtain visual barriers, risking detection from American patrol ships. HA-19 struck coral reefs three separate times trying to reach the harbor entrance. At 8.17 am, only minutes after the bombing of Pearl Harbor began, the destroyer USS Helm spotted HA-19 stuck on a reef and fired. The shells missed, but the concussion knocked Sakamaki unconscious and freed the submarine from the rocks. The impacts had crushed the forward torpedo tubes. Seawater leaked into the battery compartments, producing chlorine gas that repeatedly knocked both men unconscious as they drifted east around the island. American destroyers dropped death charges on the crippled submarine throughout the day. By evening, HA-19 had run aground near a reef off Waimanauo Beach, Oahu, near Bellows Field. Now, there are two stories that we will address regarding this event. The official story was that Sakamaki and Inagaki recovered enough to set scuttling charges to destroy the submarine, then they both abandoned ship. According to the official story, Sakamaki ordered his crewman, Inagaki, to swim to shore while Sakamaki would scuttle the submarine and follow him to shore. However, the explosives failed, likely having been flooded by the seawater. Inagaki reportedly drowned fighting through the surf while Sakamaki washed ashore unconscious. On the morning of December 8, 1941, according to the official narrative, Sakamaki was found by a U.S. soldier, Corporal David Makele Akui of the Hawaii National Guard Unit 298th Infantry Regiment, and along with Lieutenant Paul G. Pliven, tied him up and placed him in the back of a jeep. But this is where the story takes a turn. Additional information about this event was provided by one of our loyal subscribers, Lance Roman, who shared an account involving Army Warrant Officer Robert Bach, who may have been the first American to reach the Japanese officers. According to Bob Bach, his commanding officer asked for a volunteer to swim out of the his squad knew he was the strongest swimmer among them. He volunteered and swam out to the stranded submarine and opened the hatch. Inside, he discovered a dead Japanese officer and Sakamaki unconscious in the smoke-filled vessel. Bob pulled him from the submarine and swam him back to shore while the others stood watch from the beach. The top brass decided that the Hawaiian Guard should receive credit for the capture, and Army leadership wanted to embolden and strengthen the Guard. It is true that David M. Akui was standing over Kazuo Sakamaki when he regained consciousness. However, as Bob told the story, the events leading up to that moment unfolded very differently. In my view, Akui's story appeared to grow more embellished with each retelling. So, if Bach's story is true, then Enagaki was already dead in the sub and Sakamaki was unconscious and carried to shore by Bach, but politics dictated that he would not get the credit. Sakamaki was now in military custody. As a result of the mission, the Japanese high command struck his name from the records and told his family that he had been killed in action, which was standard. Sakamaki was the sole survivor of all ten Japanese submariners. The nine other submarine crewmen received posthumous double promotions and became national heroes in March 1942 while Sakamaki was let out of propaganda posters and memorials. To his nation, he did not exist, but Sakamaki now had another problem. He had not died and was a prisoner, which violated the Bushido code, the samurai code adapted for modern Japanese military service. The code requires soldiers, sailors, and airmen to die rather than accept the dishonor of surrender. The revised 1941 Shinjin-kun military code specifically prohibited Japanese soldiers from being taken prisoner. An officer being captured was unthinkable and the Banzai charges that Allied forces experienced during the war, as well as ritual seppuku, offered the traditional path to restore a man's honor after failure or capture. During the war, only approximately 50,000 Japanese military personnel would be captured by Western Allied forces, with the vast majority fighting to the death. Of the roughly 27,000 American POWs held by Japan, more than 11,000 died in captivity, a death rate exceeding 40%. Japanese forces expected equal brutality from the Allies and preferred death to potential torture. Sakamaki expected the same treatment, but he was surprised as to the proper treatment he was given. Sakamaki spent nearly three months confined to a small cell on Sand Island in Honolulu Harbor. Like other Japanese soldiers captured during the war, the shame of capture was unbearable for him and marked him for disgrace in a military culture governed by Bushido, the warrior code that demanded death before surrender. His submarine had been captured intact, with documents and charts that revealed detailed planning of the Pearl Harbor attack. Meanwhile, his submarine served American propaganda purposes. The Navy disassembled his HA-19, installed viewing ports in the hull, and placed mannequins in Japanese uniforms inside. The submarine toured through 2,000 cities and towns across 41 states between 1942 and 1945. Americans bought war bonds for the privilege of viewing it, and the campaign raised millions of dollars for the war effort. Sakamaki was transferred to mainland POW camps in Wisconsin, Camp Livingston in Louisiana, and numerous other locations. Military intelligence interrogated him extensively, and he had no reason to lie about anything. His mission was obvious. Due to his demeanor and candor, he was treated with fairness and kindness. His rank was honored by his cappers according to the Geneva Convention of 1929, and he was well-fed, which was not at all what he expected. Faced with indefinite imprisonment under these conditions, Sakamaki chose to continue living and devoted his time to learning English. He studied newspapers and books, used dictionaries, and practiced the language with his guards. By the time Sakamaki was released after the war, he spoke English fluently. During this period, he also became a leader among the Japanese prisoners, encouraging others to adapt rather than give in to despair. When the war was over, Sakamaki returned to Japan in January 1946, finding his homeland devastated and occupied by American troops. The reception he received from fellow countrymen who recognized him was hostile. He learned that his family had been told to keep his possible captivity secret during the war, which they were unsure if he was alive or in fact dead. For years, Sakamaki faced social ostracism like countless other survivors. One letter even stated, the souls of the brave comrades who fought with you and died must be crying now over what you have done. On August 15, 1946, the first anniversary of Japan's surrender, he married a woman whose father and brother had died in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Though he privately published his memoirs, he avoided discussing his wartime experiences with his family. His eldest son, Kiyoshi Sakamaki, was named after his lost comrade, which he learned after a conversation with his father following their visit to the family of Kiyoshi Enagaki. During his time in the United States and after his release, Sakamaki learned of massive list of atrocities Japanese forces committed against Chinese, Koreans, and Allied POWs. This reality must have stunned him when he compared his own experience as an American prisoner to what Americans, British, and Australians had experienced. Sakamaki had a healthy respect for Americans, whom he felt were a far more civilized nation than his own country. He saw how they treated their enemies, which was the opposite of the propaganda he and millions of fellow Japanese military men had been indoctrinated with. He had been lied to. He eventually devoted himself to pacifism, writing in his memoir, For what reason is it justifiable to say that Japanese military personnel who were taken as prisoners are unpatriotic and deserve death? Sakamaki later joined Toyota Motor Corporation with the help of a friend in 1949, where his English skills proved valuable during the negotiations regarding export sales. In 1957, managing director Seishi Kato and two others, including Sakamaki from Toyota Motor Sales Company Limited, traveled to the United States as an advance team for exporting Toyota vehicles to the U.S. and began the work of establishing a sales company. Japanese automakers wanted to enter the U.S. market, so Toyota began discussions with the United States, and their first test cars were delivered in 1958, and Sakamaki oversaw contracts and negotiations in English. Sakamaki was critical to Toyota's success in America, and he rose through the corporate ranks to become president of Toyota's Brazilian subsidiary in 1969, a position he held until he retired in 1987. In 1991, after decades of not discussing the war with anyone, including his family, Sakamaki attended a historical conference at the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg, Texas. He was an honored guest speaker, discussing the war and his role in it. It was there where he reunited with his midgets of HA-19, which was on permanent display in his exhibits. When Sakamaki encountered his submarine for the first time in 50 years, he reportedly broke down in tears. Sakamaki died in Japan on November 29, 1999, at age 81. He had survived disgrace, imprisonment, and social condemnation to build a successful life as a pacifist and successful businessman. His son published his full memoir in 2021. As for David Akui, he served through the remainder of the war in the China-Burma-India theater, and was a member of the famed Merrill's Marauders, who fought the Japanese in the jungles of Burma. He retired from the United States Army as a master sergeant and spent the rest of his life in Hawaii. He refused multiple opportunities to meet again with Sakamaki after the war. Akui died in Kaneohe, Honolulu, in 1987, at the age of 67. After the war, Robert Buck spent 29 years working in graphic design before his death in 2019. I would like to thank our subscriber Lance Roman, who suggested this story and shared the account he received from Robert Buck. There is honor among veterans. Thank you for watching this episode of Forgotten History. If you liked what you saw, please click like, share, and subscribe. And, if you would like to assist with the ever-increasing costs of production, please consider becoming a channel member and joining our Patreon page.