Japanese Records

[RCheung]

The Japanese records, such as they are, are of course a) located in Japan and b) written in Japanese. You can apply to the National Diet Library for information on where to begin, but you will have to bring your own translator!

Dan, you'd have better luck going directly to the Japanese Defence Department Archives at Ebisu in Tokyo. There is a card index where you can look up reports for specific units during a given period. The archivists will bring out the reports you request and you can look through them yourself. Photocopies take a long time and didgital cameras were not allowed.

Problem is, looking through the card index, there are many gaps. JNAF records tend to be in much better shape. Interestingly, the guards at the gate understood English but the people running the archives did not!

So, it is a good idea to have a translator along.