2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
TV tonight: Japan's kamikaze pilots and why they were impelled to sacrifice themselves
9pm, BBC FourIt is still absolutely shocking to see footage of the kamikaze attacks that Japan operated for 10 months at the end of the second world war. Nearly 4,000 Japanese pilots died this way and 7,000 allied military personnel were killed. Why did they push this strategy? And why were people so willing to do it? Takayuki Oshima's monumental film uses 15 years of research and interviews with witnesses, family members and former pilots to explore this massive system of suicide attack. Hollie Richardson
7pm, BBC TwoIrvine Welsh, the author of cult 90s hit Trainspotting, is back with a new novel and a new philosophy. He shares them here with Katie Razzall, over the course of a wide-ranging interview: 'We're living in a world so full of hate and poison now, it's time we focused more on love as an antidote.' Ellen E Jones
8pm, Channel 4How can you keep your senses sharpened as you grow older? A 75-year-old perfumer, an 86-year-old jazz musician and a 68-year-old biathlete reckon they have smell, hearing and eyesight covered respectively. The late Michael Mosley met them to put their tricks to the test. HR
9pm, BBC Two
'I personally love Neanderthals.' More from this excellent origin story, as Ella Al-Shamahi makes the case that our much-maligned forebears were far from the knuckle-draggers of popular myth. And they're closer than we think in temporal terms, too, as a fossil shows a modern human had a Neanderthal ancestor only a few generations before their time. Phil Harrison
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9pm, ITV1It has been a tame affair so far – what with no shark seriously injuring a C-lister – but the fear factor is notched up a bit as the famous faces embark on a cut-off raft in shark-ridden waters. Is this the moment Lenny Henry sends a strongly worded message to his agent? HR
11.10pm, BBC OneNew season, new entity. Witch Rowan (Alexandra Daddario) has birthed a monster – literally: the malevolent demon Lasher reincarnated in baby form, as evinced by his terrifying growth spurts and dark appetites. Meanwhile, Moira Mayfair arrives seeking answers about her sister Tessa's death. Ali Catterall
