{
  "id": 19357154,
  "title": "How America helped shape the man who attacked Pearl Harbor",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/10/how-america-helped-shape-the-man-who-attacked-pearl-harbor",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-11-10T15:30:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Big Think",
    "slug": "big-think",
    "url": "https://bigthink.com/history-society/admiral-yamamoto/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Isoroku Yamamoto, who would later become a military leader involved in the attack on Pearl Harbor, was an introverted child with a fascination for American culture. Living in a small town, he spent his afternoons at home after school, unlike his peers who played with friends. An American missionary named Horatio Newell arrived in town and introduced Yamamoto to baseball, igniting his interest in the sport. Newell also made Sunday School classes engaging for the young boy, sharing stories of American figures such as Benjamin Franklin and George Washington. His father, a scholar and ex-samurai, supported his son's interest in learning about the West. In high school, Yamamoto read Benjamin Franklin's biography, inspired by the American fight for independence. When he entered the Naval Academy at 17, he had already developed a positive view of America, despite anti-Japanese sentiments growing in the country. During a training cruise to the U.S., Yamamoto experienced firsthand the hostility towards Japanese people in America, with one postcard stating, \"San Francisco is the source of the anti-Japanese feelings in the U.S.\" Despite this, American officials welcomed them warmly, and Yamamoto later participated in parades and ceremonies in Tacoma, feeling torn between the nation's promise of freedom and its anti-Japanese policies.",
  "summary": "The adults in town were surprised. Isoroku Takano, later Yamamoto*, was an introverted child. At school, he usually sat quietly with his arms crossed. After school, he didn’t stop to play with the other boys, but headed straight home. Unusually, though, the boy seemed to come out of his shell when he talked to an American who had recently arrived in town. The man, a missionary named Horatio…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}