Sunken Japanese sub may hold World War II secret

The Guardian has the details of an intriguing mystery. I know, it's not supernatural. Consider it the possible setting for a future supernatural story.

An American Vietnam veteran could be about to answer one of the most intriguing questions arising from the second world war: was Japan preparing to seek peace with the allies more than a year before the war ended?

Paul Tidwell, a shipwreck salvager, said yesterday he believes wreckage of a Japanese submarine sunk by US warplanes in the Atlantic on June 23 1944 could contain a peace proposal from Tokyo that never made it into the hands of its intended recipient.

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The vessel is thought to be carrying the remains of 112 crew, two tonnes of gold and a similar quantity of opium. After learning about the I-52's mission while sifting through declassified military documents in Washington in 1990, Mr Tidwell's initial interest became a passion.

"I knew I-52 was special, I knew there was gold on it," he said. "I was driven to find out everything possible about the submarine and her mission."

According to the documents, Yoshikazu Fujimura, the assistant naval attache in Switzerland, had been in secret peace negotiations with a US representative, Allen Dulles.