Hideaki Akaiwa is the most "bad ass" open water swimmer of all!

Hideaki Akaiwa of Japan was at work on a lazy afternoon somewhere within the Miyagi Prefecture when both the earthquake and Tsunami struck. Hideaki terrified that his wife was in danger leaves work to go find her but as he exits the building, he finds the city quickly submerging into 10-feet of water while cars, benches, building fragments and anything else that is not tied down is floating by.

He calls home; no answer!

Rescue workers appear on the scene and they tell Hideaki nothing can be done! NOTHING CAN BE DONE! As badass of the week points out way more articulately than I can, most men would have crumpled and either given up or cried but Hideaki decided to get busy.

In what badass correctly calls his neighborhood a post Apocalyptic wasteland, Hideaki, in full "Road Warrior mode" somehow gets a hold of a wetsuit, a scuba rebreather system, fins, knife, (every hero needs a knife), and dumps them into his car and drives to his former neighborhood. Once there and with no scuba experience whatsoever, he summarily dives into ten-foot-deep polluted mess hoping to find both his house and wife intact.

From "bad ass of the week:

"... Hideaki maintained his composure and navigated his way through the submerged city, finally tracking down his old house. He quickly swam through to find his totally-freaked-out wife, alone and stranded on the upper level of their house, barely keeping her head above water. He grabbed her tight, and presumably sharing his rebreather with her, dragged her out of the wreckage to safety. She survived.

But Hideaki Akaiwa still wasn't done yet. ..."

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Hideaki Akaiwa is a "samurai!" Go to the link above and see what other heroics he accomplished that day.