War policy -Desperate War of Japan in the Pacific-

Episodes Enoki Flying Board --- Desperate War of Japan in the Pacific ---

War policy

Ministers of Japan decided the final war policy on 25th Jan 1945. The major ministers concerning the policy were Prime minister Koiso, Army Sugiyama, Navy Yonai, Transport Maeda and Munitions Yoshida. The document consisted of 7 articles. Article1 was a guideline that referred to modern war, national and force capability. Article2 was a summary refferring to sucide attack weapons, air defense for production facilities, fast transportaion of aviation gasoline and other resources unavailable in domestic. Article3 was description of national and force capability which consisted of 8 parts. Article4 was transportation.

The document referred to mass production of sucide attack weapons. I think that government of Japan admitted mass sucide attack officially in document. And more govenment found there was a bottle neck of domestic logistics. Production and transportation values were, as follows,

Production
Iron production by charcoal in farming and mountain villages because of unavailablity for transportaion. I show daily values in brackets.

Steel production ; 3 million ton (8,200ton)

Domestic coal production ; 55 million ton (15,000ton)

aluminum production ; 150,000 ton (410ton)

Liquid fuel production ; 2 million kL (5,500kL)

Freighters shipbuilding ; 1.07 million gross ton (2,900ton)

Aviation fuel tankers shipbuilding ; 380,000 ton (1,000ton)

Burges shipbuilding or something ; 140,000 ton (380ton)

Locomotive engines ; 207 (17 per month)

Train carriage ; 7,500 (21)

Automotive trucks ; 5,500 (15)

Carts ; 149,000 (408)

Aircraft ; 20,000 (55)

Transportaion

Bauxite ;

Oil product ; 500,000kL in 6 months (2,800kL, 83,000kL/month)

Rubber ;

Sugar from Taiwan ;

Transportaion availability

Sea cargo ; 32 million ton (88,000ton)

Ground cargo ; 85 million ton (23,000ton)

Other articles
These articles wrote no actual values, but bureaucrats' favorite Kanji. They showed hopes full of unnecessary qualifiers.

Article5 ; kokunai-taisei kyouka sasshin youkou

Article6 ; seisin-douin, kyokoku souryokusen taisei

Article7 consited of 9 items; kokusei-unei narabi kokunai ippan-taisei
Item7 was reform and abolishment for the productivity. Item8 was cleanup of black markets and efficient ration system. Item9 was check of production and transportaion, productivity of industries
Kessen hijyou soti youkou

My view
I know government could not do item 8 of article 7 well even after the war. Though government hoped the gasoline production of 5,500kL per day, they planned only 2,800kL (83,000kL/month) of transportaion. The actual transportaions of oil were 3,443t, 2,394t, 1,786t, 13,674t, 2,511t and 1,130t only in the past 6 months. The actual average was 4156t. This is 5% of planned value. The actual maxium value of oil transportaion was only 15,924t on Apr 1942. The ministers had not better plan the war policy rather than do work at all. I think Ministry of Transportaion was responsible for fraudulent means. Government realized that productivity was very importatn for mass production. This caused QC of Japanese style later.
Shosen ni yotte yusou sita syuyou busshitu, Ooi, p412-413

Secret research for defence
IJA researched worst option secretly in the end of the Pacific War in autumn 1944.

US Army staion in Japan main land
Disarmament of IJA and IJN
Removable Emperor system

IJN also studied how Japan ceased the Pacific War on May 1945. Takagi of IJN thought US war policy against Japan.

Establishment of Japanese Government that cooperate with US and challange against US in future
Liberal and democratic government change that sweep militarist power
Emperor system reform
Japanese people genocide

Option 4 is not practical for considering the other Asian nations. Option 3 is profit of Russia. After all US would select option 1 and 2, Takagi concluded.
NHK6, p168-171