Who Was the Master Spy in Hawaii

On February 3, 1940, Yamamoto briefed Captain Kanji Ogawa of Naval Intelligence on the potential attack plan, asking him to start intelligence gathering on Pearl Harbor.

What do you know about Japanese spies in Pearl Harbor?   Take this World War II Quick Quiz.

True or False?

1. Captain Kanji Ogawa already had spies in Hawaii.

2. Captain Kanji Ogawa planned to add 29-year-old Ensign Take Outorder.

3. The Japanese agent came to Hawaii aboard the liner Nitta-maru .

4. The agent failed to gather intelligence.

5. Once, the agent gained access to Hickam Field in a taxi.

6. The agent was also able to discover that Sunday was the day of the week on which the largest number of ships were likely to be in harbor.

7. Japanese intelligence feared that the U.S. Navy had broken codes and all intelligence came to Japan in letter first sent to the U.S. mainland.

Who Was the Master Spy in Hawaii Answers

1. True. Captain Kanji Ogawa already had spies in Hawaii, including Japanese Consular officials with an intelligence remit, and he arranged for help from a German already living in Hawaii who was an Abwehr agent. None had been providing much militarily useful information.

2. False. Captain Kanji Ogawa planned to add 29-year-old Ensign Takeo Yoshikawa. By the spring of 1941, Yamamoto officially requested additional Hawaiian intelligence.

3. True. Yoshikawa boarded the liner Nitta-maru at Yokohama. He had grown his hair longer than military length, and assumed the cover name Tadashi Morimura.

4. False. Yoshikawa began gathering intelligence in earnest by taking auto trips around the main islands, and toured Oahu in a small plane, posing as a tourist. He visited Pearl Harbor frequently, sketching the harbor and location of ships from the crest of a hill.

5. True. Once, Yoshikawa gained access to Hickam Field in a taxi, memorizing the number of visible planes, pilots, hangars, barracks and soldiers.

6. True. Yoshikawa was also able to discover that Sunday was the day of the week on which the largest number of ships were likely to be in harbor, that PBY patrol planes went out every morning and evening, and that there was an antisubmarine net in the mouth of the harbor.

7. False. Information was returned to Japan in coded form in Consular communications, and by direct delivery to intelligence officers aboard Japanese ships calling at Hawaii by consulate staff.

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