Imperial defence policy and annual war planning

The Imperial Defence Policy was first published in 1907 and revised in 1918, 1923, and 1936, but repeatedly called for forestalling an enemy by concentrating forces before he could do the same. Surprise and early destruction of seaborne forces therefore appeared across Japanese operational thought, outside the Kantai Kessen strand as well. Regular annual planning and wargaming kept these ideas connected to changing political, institutional, and budgetary pressures. Decisive-battle language also served as political advocacy by armed services competing for money, rather than providing a neutral statement of war plans.