[caldrail]

yest but the pilots followed the order, especially the home defence pilots.

in the beginning the Japanese refused to carry a chute or even a radio, because they did not need it and wanted to get rid of the weight (no armour either).
but on later stages, especially when fighting over own territory they had to carry a chute. i read it also in Saburo Sakais boook for the first time. There was an order for the pilots to carry it, although he said he didn't like it.

at some point Japan felt the loss of pilots and realized it had to have a better pilot saving program. too late obviously and I assume some fighting over this issue may have happened in high command....

but as a matter of fact, especially home defence pilots did carry a chute. Not the jumping itself was disgracing but doing so over enemy territory and become prisoner.

Whilst that may have been some pilots view, the average Japanese pilot saw himself as an aerial samurai. As such the need to bale out wouldn't have occured to them. They were thinking in terms of being the better aerial warrior in a one-on-one sense, which is why Japanese piulots preferred manoeverability above all else, and since parachute straops tended to restrict their movement in the cockpit, and since they were considered superfluous items anyway, the pilots ignored directives from their commanders concerning parachutes.

As for a pilot saving program, I find that a little odd, given the kamakazi initiative, and that says more about Japanese attitudes than anything. These men volunteered, there was no pressure, and indeed, to take part was considered an honour. They weren't dying for their country or their emperor, as is often stated, but to spend their lives as best they could. The concept is a matter of logic and samurai mindset that goes like this - A man will die anyway at some point, and if his death achieves purpose, it has meaning. If one man can sink an aircraft carrier, is that not a noble purpose?

It was therefore a logical trade. The loss of one mans life is inconsequential compared to the strategic gain his death potenially achieves, thus these men volunteered. The same selflessness existed in Japanese aviators who weren't part of the Kamakazi movement. They considered themselves better pilots than the allied opponents - they often were early on before casualties tipped the balance - and their acceptance and disdain of risk is something hard to understand in the west. The Japanese Command of course realised early on that they were losing valuable experienced pilots and therefore issued commands to wear parachutes, even though the Japanese had very little SAR for obvious reasons.

It is true that Bushido dictated a man should not surrender, and that to be captured was dishonourable. That wasn't the reason for the Japanese not wearing parachutes, because it was accepted that a Japanese should fight to the death anyway. It simply wasn't considered. After all, if a Japanese pilot baled out, he has lost his sword. Unthinkable.

Interestingly though, the guy who organised Kamakazi missions decided, once the surrender was announced, that he could not live with himself if he did not do what he had ordered his young men to. So he asked for volunteers for one last mission (this happening after Japan announced surrender to its people) and with something like a hundred or more pilots, took off to attack US ships near Japan. None of the planes were ever seen again.