Talyn
Emissary
It was a common assumption that Japan in 1941 was practically impossible for American spies to penetrate. Indeed, there were real, significant barriers to espionage. Japan was a homogenous society, and its brutal secret police, the Kempeitai, showed no mercy to anyone who posed a threat to the imperial government. Foreign spies came in for especially brutal treatment.
However, espionage in Japan was not impossible. U.S. Navy Intelligence and Grew’s Embassy had more ability than they claimed to operate in Japan. The Chief of Naval Operations had tasked U.S. agents in Japan and elsewhere to gather information about the Japanese military. These agents found that espionage in Japan was a challenge but not impossible.
A Navy photographer snapped this photograph of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on December 7 1941, just as the USS Shaw (DD-373) exploded. The stern of the USS Nevada (BB-36) can be seen in the foreground.
However, espionage in Japan was not impossible. U.S. Navy Intelligence and Grew’s Embassy had more ability than they claimed to operate in Japan. The Chief of Naval Operations had tasked U.S. agents in Japan and elsewhere to gather information about the Japanese military. These agents found that espionage in Japan was a challenge but not impossible.
A Navy photographer snapped this photograph of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on December 7 1941, just as the USS Shaw (DD-373) exploded. The stern of the USS Nevada (BB-36) can be seen in the foreground.