And if so, who were they? I ask this because I know that the Axis did some terrible things so naturally, the majority of history looks down upon them. But even the Nazis had their share of idolized soldiers and commanders whom you'd hear of now and again. But thinking in that train of thought, I realized that one would rarely hear of Japanese war heroes, and the only Japanese war heroes I knew of were actually Japanese Americans. Generally, when you're recognized as a hero of war by your country, you're awarded a medal, but a cursory search on Wikipedia led to nothing in that front, so I've turned to here.
Thanks for any and all replies!
The only notable military honors I could find any information about are the Bukochosho, or Badge for Military Merit, and the Order of the Golden Kite. The former was awarded to living soldiers with "exceptional valor in battle" and was usually awarded to fighter pilots shooting down Allied bombers. The latter was awarded primarily to commanders.
It seems consistent with Japanese culture that individuals within a group are not elevated above the rest. While there were some respected pilots, they don't have anything that parallels the Iron Cross or the Medal of Honor.
On the other hand, the destroyer Yukikaze became well known within Japan for not sinking despite being in many of the biggest disasters of the Imperial Japanese Navy.