Early Career
A 1933 graduate of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy at Etajima (graduating at the top of his class), Yoshikawa served briefly at sea aboard the armored cruiser Asama as well as submarines and had begun training as a naval pilot near the end of 1934 when a severe stomach ailment prevented him from completing his training. He was subsequently discharged from the Imperial Japanese Navy in 1936. As a result, he briefly contemplated suicide.
A year later he began a career in Naval intelligence, being assigned to Navy Headquarters in Tokyo. He became an expert in the U.S. Navy, perusing through every source he could possibly get his hands on. While on intelligence duty he intercepted a shortwave radio message in plain English that 17 troop transports were en route to England, having cleared the port of Freetown. He passed this information to the German Embassy, and many of the ships were destroyed as a result. Yoshikawa subsequently received a personal letter of thanks from Adolf Hitler. In 1940 he became a junior diplomat after passing the Foreign Ministry English examinations.
Read more about this topic: Takeo Yoshikawa
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