Letters | Ukraine war: the ghost of Yamamoto is haunting the West

Readers discuss the lessons we should learn from Japan’s defeat in World War II, the wisdom in Hong Kong’s district council revamp, and the appeal of a Biden-Trump rematch in the 2024 presidential election

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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European Council President Charles Michel walk together during an EU summit in Brussels on February 9. The EU and Nato should seek a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine war, rather than Russia’s defeat. Photo: AP

Published: 11:30am, 10 May 2023

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I’m a student at an international school in Beijing. This week we had an interesting lesson about the Imperial Japanese Navy commander Isoroku Yamamoto, whose plane was shot down 80 years ago by American pilots over the Pacific Ocean.

Yamamoto was a great gambler. But his strategy to defeat the Americans went terribly wrong in the early 1940s despite the early success in attacking Pearl Harbour. Yamamoto knew Japan had no hope of subduing the United States: the Japanese navy could not reach the American west coast, yet American bombers could attack Tokyo.

After the loss in the Battle of Midway, his days were numbered. He was killed in an air ambush in April 1943 and Japan was defeated in World War II two years later.

History seems to be repeating itself, with the ghost of Yamamoto apparently haunting some decision-makers in Washington and Brussels. For example, instead of finding a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine conflict, some leaders at the European Union and Nato are dreaming about helping Ukraine to defeat a major nuclear power and capture the Russian naval base at Crimea. The US dollar is used as a weapon to execute economic sanctions.

Elon Musk has pointed out that dollar is already a victim, because when the greenback is used as a weapon over and over again, fewer countries will trust it.