On Uotsuru Island, Ishigaki City and family members of the victims erected a small monument to honor those who lost their lives in the tragedy of the Yufuku Maru and Isshin Maru. (©Robert D Eldridge)
One of the ceremonies overlooked in this summer's coverage of the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II was a remembrance for dozens of victims of an aerial attack near the Senkaku Islands. The attack targeted two small ships evacuating from Ishigaki to Taiwan in early July 1945.
Those not immediately killed in the attack made their way to the Senkaku Islands but were stranded there for nearly two months. During that time, many of the survivors died from starvation. It was only after some of the survivors built a boat and paddled to Ishigaki to get help that a rescue was conducted.
This incident is known as the Senkaku Shoto Senji Sonan Jiken, or the Senkaku Islands Wartime Shipwreck Incident. It was one of the many tragedies that occurred during World War II.
A Fatal Evacuation
The evacuation was the 24th carried out for residents of Ishigaki Island. Ishigaki is part of the Yaeyama Island Group in southern Okinawa Prefecture. It took place as the war began to approach the prefecture's Nansei Islands.
The call for those wishing to depart went out on June 24, the day after organized resistance on Okinawa came to an end. At that time, fierce fighting on the main island, some 400 kilometers away, had just concluded with the Battle of Okinawa.
Not only was the date ironic, but so was the fact that Ishigaki had been spared from a land invasion (although it did experience aerial attacks).
In other words, the evacuation was sadly unnecessary. It sent non-combatants through treacherous waters patrolled by United States submarines and exposed to US aircraft overhead, making the journey extremely dangerous.
Caught in US Crosshairs
That is exactly what happened. Two private ships, the Yufuku Maru and Isshin Maru, which had been incorporated into the Imperial Japanese Army's 45th Independent Combined Brigade "Sailing Force," departed from Ishigaki Port on the evening of June 30.
After stopping off on Iriomote Island, the ships planned to depart the next night for Taiwan. However, engine troubles with the Yufuku Maru caused the departure to be delayed until the evening of July 2.
Instead of going directly to Taiwan, which had been under Japan's administration since 1895, the convoy veered toward the Senkaku Islands in an effort to avoid any submarines.
However, they were spotted by a US B-24 in the afternoon of July 3, just a few hours before their scheduled arrival in Keelung. The American aircraft then opened fire and dropped bombs on them. (The ships, which had military personnel aboard, unsuccessfully returned fire.)
Both ships were heavily damaged, especially the Isshin Maru, which caught fire and sank. Apparently assuming that the Yufuku Maru would also sink, the American aircraft left the area.
Stranded on Uotsuri Island
The engine of Yufuku Maru had been hit in the attack, and the ship was unable to maneuver. Personnel on the vessel attempted rescue operations for passengers of the sunken Isshin Maru while the crew worked on the engine. Eventually, they got it fixed by the morning of July 4.
One of the passengers recommended heading to the Senkaku Islands. He had worked there in the prewar period and knew that there was water and some structures on Uotsuri Island. The ship headed there and, upon arrival, found six other stranded soldiers whose vessel had been sunk earlier.
Using the supplies from the surviving ship and materials found on the island, the more than 100 passengers and crew managed to survive for a week or two before gradually running out of food.
They began to eat anything they could find, including hermit crabs, small fish, and plants found on the island. Some, however, were poisonous, and they got violently ill. People began to die from starvation and illness.
Daring Voyage Leads to Rescue
They attempted to use the Yufuku Maru to seek help, but its engine had completely failed. With the assistance of a shipbuilder and a soldier-engineer, they eventually constructed a small five-meter canoe.
An eight-member crew was formed from a mix of soldiers and others with sailing experience, and they set out for Ishigaki's Kabira coastline, about 170 kilometers away. They departed on the evening of July 12 and reached Ishigaki two days later.
After learning of the situation, the 45th Independent Combined Brigade requested the Japanese air forces in Taiwan to air-drop food and supplies over the island. It also dispatched several ships, including one carrying a medic, to rescue the survivors.
The ships arrived on July 18 and returned to Ishigaki the following afternoon. Sadly, some of the rescued survivors later perished.
Remembering the Victims
The exact number of victims and the details of where and how they died remain uncertain. Different accounts tell different stories. Some claim around 180 people were aboard the two ships, others as many as 240. Those included Taiwanese and Koreans who were then Japanese citizens.
Reported death tolls also differ. They ranged from 53 (including 8 who died of starvation) to as many as 90 (including 20 who died after being rescued).
In 1969, the then-mayor of Ishigaki City, under whose administration the Senkaku Islands had long belonged, traveled with family members of the victims to Uotsuri Island.
There, they erected a small monument to honor those who had lost their lives. The city later paid tribute to the eight men who built and sailed the boat to Ishigaki to seek help.
Bereaved families later established an association. Thereafter, in 2002, a permanent memorial was erected along the coast in Ishigaki's Arakawa area. Every year on July 3, they gather there to honor and remember the victims.
A Story Retold on Film
I had the privilege of visiting the memorial recently with a friend from Taketomi Island who helped construct it. The names of 80 individuals were listed on the main stone, many of whom were joined by family members.
A film adaptation of the 2023 book Senkaku 1945 by acclaimed nonfiction writer Ryusho Kadota is now in production. For the book, Kadota interviewed one of the last surviving witnesses and carried out extensive on-site research.
After returning from my latest trip to Ishigaki, I spoke to Kadota. He told me that "The movie will not only shed new light on the wartime tragedy but also dispel lingering myths about China's sovereignty over the Senkakus."
I hope he proves right on both counts.
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Author: Robert D Eldridge, PhD
Dr Eldridge is a former political advisor to the US Marine Corps in Japan and author of numerous books on Japanese political and diplomatic history.
