Remains from one of the most important naval conflicts of the Second World War have been revealed by a new ocean-bed study of ships sunk in the Battle of Midway.
Historians say the battle between Japanese and US warships in the Pacific Ocean in 1942 was a turning point in the war which Nazi-allied Tokyo never recovered from.
Now, spectacular new video footage has revealed how some of the ships sunk in the conflict are still in remarkable condition more than 80 years later.
The images were captured during a five-day study by a team of experts from Japan and the US near Midway Island earlier this month.
Crystal clear footage shows the Imperial aircraft carrier Akagi for the first time with its weaponry still intact more than 16,000 feet under the sea.
A second Japanese aircraft carrier, Kaga, was also shown in the video.
Historians say the battle between Japanese and US warships in the Pacific Ocean in 1942 was a turning point in the war which Nazi-allied Tokyo never recovered from.
Now, spectacular new video footage has revealed how some of the ships sunk in the conflict are still in remarkable condition more than 80 years later.
The images were captured during a five-day study by a team of experts from Japan and the US near Midway Island earlier this month.
Crystal clear footage shows the Imperial aircraft carrier Akagi for the first time with its weaponry still intact more than 16,000 feet under the sea.
A second Japanese aircraft carrier, Kaga, was also shown in the video.
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NewsTranscript
00:00 The question was something about the chrysanthemum emblem.
00:05 The chrysanthemum is the sign of Japanese emperor, I believe, and most of the warships actually carry chrysanthemum emblem on their bows,
00:13 indicating they were a property of the Imperial Majesty.
00:16 So you see that on all Japanese warships.
00:19 Kind of coming into view now.
00:22 Symbols of royalty on warships go back centuries.
00:27 The Imperial Japanese Navy chrysanthemum crest on the bow, and there it is.
00:32 You can see it.
00:34 That is the symbol of an Imperial warship.
00:39 This means this belongs to the emperor.
00:42 To add a little historical context, our King Kalakaua visited Japan in 1881
00:50 and was personally presented with the royal order of the chrysanthemum.
00:55 And so there's a long history of relationships between the Hawaiian kingdom and Japan.
01:03 Mike, Hans?
01:06 Yep.
01:07 One of the, as we just went past that, the outline of the crest is there, but the crest is not here to see today.
01:17 What that likely means is that this was a gilded piece of carved wood and that it has been consumed,
01:27 but the location of it is still clearly defined there.
01:31 When we get around to take a look, I think we'll see it clearly.
01:34 Hans or Mike, would you folks be able to explain to the viewers and to those of us in the control room
01:39 the significance of this vessel as a flagship?
01:43 But the flagship means that it carries the admiral and is the lead ship in the fleet.
01:49 Yeah, I think Jim's correct that the actual seal has been deteriorated.
01:53 It was probably made of wood.
01:55 I don't know. I can convince myself it's still there and just covered, but it probably isn't.
02:02 Actually, it still might be there. What do you think?
02:06 Hard to tell. I'm wondering why it's reflecting like that.
02:11 Because I can see the ridges in it.
02:14 Yeah, you know if there was a protective surface over it that has now got some growth,
02:20 but I see a flower shape inside there.
02:22 Yeah, it's definitely there. I do see it.
02:24 So there may have been some sort of surface over it protecting it from weathering.
02:28 It may still be wood and behind that, but yeah, closer inspection, I see the petals.
02:36 And that's what's making the reflection, whatever protective surface they have.
02:39 I think it was painted gold.
02:41 Yeah.
02:43 That's...
02:46 Yes, it was painted by gold color, I think, originally.
02:52 You can see the radiating lines of the petals.
02:55 Yeah. Thanks, guys. That was worth the patience.
03:00 Absolutely incredible.
03:05 You know, we can understand this as Native Hawaiians, and the depth and the reverence that we hold for this place,
03:13 and for those who lay in the realm of Kanaloa, the god of the sea.
03:19 You know, I just wanted to share this olelo no eau.
03:22 It's a Hawaiian proverb, and it says, "Lu'u lu'u hanakahi, i ka ua nui, weighted down is hanakahi by the heavy rain."
03:33 And this expression was much used in Hawaiian laments for the dead,
03:38 to express that heaviness of the heart as tears that pour like rain.
03:44 And so we honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, whether you were American or Japanese,
03:52 we honor those that lay in the realm of Kanaloa, our sacred 'aina akua,
03:57 and we are in reverence as we view this, the akagi.
04:04 That's very beautiful. Mahalo, Malia.
04:10 It's rare when a ship actually tells you its name.
04:15 So this is a pretty important moment in this exploration.
04:20 Again, for those tuning in, we're looking carefully and closely at the support side of the stern of the ship
04:26 to see if perhaps some of the markings on the side of the ship could be the Japanese characters, the kanji,
04:31 identifying this as the Aiji ana kagi.
04:34 I think it's backwards from what she said, but I think I can make out the embossed A on the right one.
04:40 Yeah, almost like the paint is eroding.
04:42 Yeah, so I can see...
04:44 We agree with the shapes in the paint, below the paint.
04:48 Yeah.
04:49 Oh, yep, I see it.
04:52 It's coming in at just the right angle when the lights produce that little shadow.
04:56 Yep.
04:57 Wow.
04:59 This feels especially sacred and important, and I just want to honor the vessel
05:07 and all of those who sailed on this vessel and the lives they lived on this vessel
05:12 as it's revealing its name to us, although not totally deliberately.
05:16 It looks like the story might be that there was an attempt to paint over the name,
05:21 but such an honor to bear witness to this.
05:24 Hi, this is Jun Kimura from Japan.
05:27 Yes, if it's a hiragana character, not kanji, then it has three characters.
05:33 One of the squares is not a real square.
05:36 I have a curiosity about it.
05:39 So if it's kanji, it should be two characters.
05:43 Yeah, thank you.
05:44 So it should be the hiragana?
05:47 Yes.
05:48 You can see the A, you can see A, and then Gi.
05:53 So the double mark, yeah, so A, A, Gi.
05:59 So the most left side that has a little bit awkward shape must be Gi, pronounced in GI.
06:08 And there's a small square notches sticking up because of the sound that has something two dots on pronunciation of Gi.
06:20 So I think from right side to left side, Akagi, in three characters in hiragana.
06:27 Thank you.
06:28 Arigatou gozaimashita.
06:30 Thank you very much, Mahalo Nui, for joining us.
06:34 Arigatou.