IJN rank inflation and the problem of apprentice admirals

Did an excess of IJN flag officers drive Japan's complex, widely dispersed operations by creating commands for competing factions?

Less than might be expected. Specialist training, slow development of generalist commanders, and limited trust in rear admirals did more to produce overloaded vice admirals and awkward command structures.

The Japanese system produced excellent specialists but took longer to turn them into generalists capable of mixed-force command. Rear admirals often functioned as closely supervised 'apprentice admirals,' while vice admirals carried responsibilities that other navies might entrust to lower ranks. That lack of delegated trust overloaded senior commanders with multiple roles and encouraged tightly controlled small divisions rather than independent subordinate commands. The discussion connects this structure to a wider master-student culture in Japanese service training and promotion. Factional politics mattered, but it was not the main cause of operational complexity.