On May 11, 1945, he flew a kamikaze suicide mission against USS Bunker Hill during the Battle of Okinawa near the end of World War II.

[2] As leader of the Navy's Kamikaze Corps 7th Showa Special Attack Squadron, he led a group of four young men to attack US Navy ships.

Yasunori led a group of six planes which departed Kanoya Air Base between 0640 and 0653 on May 11, 1945.

Yasunori dropped a 550-lb bomb and then crashed his A6M Zero into the aft portion of the flight deck of the USS Bunker Hill.

The bomb tore a hole in the port side of the ship and his plane crashed onto the flight deck.