Note 4 — Chapter III · Plans Are Made and Forces Are Readied

In July 1944 the Americans received information that all was not going well in the Japanese homeland. From a radio interception they learned that Premier Hideki Tojo and his entire cabinet had resigned on 18 July. The Japanese message stated: “The situation is the result of the period of ‘sweating blood’ and we sincerely regret causing anxiety to the Emperor. We thank the people at home and at the front for co-operating with the government....”4 The tenor of the announcement and of subsequent statements made it abundantly clear, however, that the Japanese were determined to do their utmost toward prosecuting the war to a successful conclusion.