JAPANESE NAVAL CHIEF

Wairarapa Times-Age, 24 May 1943, Page 3

JAPANESE NAVAL CHIEF

MAY HAVE LOST HIS LIFE IN PASSENGER PLANE. CRASH BETWEEN SINGAPORE & BANGKOK. (By Telegraph—Press Association— Copyright) WASHINGTON, May 22. An examination of Japanese broadcasts raises the possibility that Admiral Yamamoto was killed in a passenger plane crash rather than in combat, says the Office of War Information. It explains that a Tokio broadcast to Burma on April 18, reported that a large passenger plane carrying 14 persons, including “very high-ranking officials,” crashed in the sea between Singapore and Bangkok.

The extent of Japan's concern at the death of Admiral Yamamoto is indicated by the repeated Tokio broadcasts to the Japanese Navy to remain unshaken and impregnable. The Navy Minister, Admiral Shimada, said in a statement that every navy man had redoubled his determination to crush the enemy, adding that Admiral Yamamoto's loss had not shaken the firm foundation of the navy, which was more than ever 1 resolved to uphold its brilliant traditions.

The Secretary for the Navy, Colonel Knox, said he was unable to identify the engagement in which Admiral Yamamoto was killed. He added that the major part of the American naval strength was in the Pacific. The Japanese were strengthening their Pacific bases as fast as they could, but he was uncertain whether this was of a defensive or offensive character. The Tokio radio announced that Admiral Ninechi Koga had been appointed Commander-in-Chief.