A weaker navy should sometimes refuse an objective and preserve its main force, using submarines or other low-commitment raids to impose costs instead. Japanese command culture faced pressure to be visibly active because inactivity could be interpreted as failure to perform its duty. That institutional demand encouraged operations even when concentration or deliberate waiting offered the stronger position. Waiting is psychologically difficult because commanders surrender the feeling of control and must let the enemy reveal its hand first. Midway's dispersal shows how organizational incentives can make sound strategic restraint politically and emotionally difficult.
Notable Point · 40:52-42:45
Command pressure made strategic restraint difficult
The demand to be seen doing something can fragment a weaker fleet even when waiting or using low-risk raids would preserve strategic leverage.