Please note, this episode contains discussion of suicide. 

By October 1944, the Japanese were in real trouble. The Allies had made great strides in their Pacific island-hopping campaign and were advancing on the Japanese home islands. In a desperate attempt to stem the tide, Japan created the 'Special Attack Units', which included the kamikaze - young pilots tasked with launching suicidal missions against Allied forces.

For the first episode in our three-part series on the kamikaze, Dan is joined by Christopher Harding, a cultural historian of India and Japan and author of 'The Light of Asia'. Chris explains the ideological and tactical messages of the kamikaze, and raises an important question - were these pilots enthusiastic zealots or terrified young men with nothing to lose?

Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.

Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code DANSNOW sign up at https://historyhit/subscription/

We'd love to hear from you- what do you want to hear an episode on? You can email the podcast at [email protected].

You can take part in our listener survey here.