The central Japanese weakness is insufficient industrial and logistical depth for a long war against Britain or the United States. Japan understood the vulnerability but still planned around a quick victory, leaving too little resilience when delay came. Earlier civilian maritime investment could have supported dockyard expansion under a civilian pretext. Cooperation with Germany also offered coal-based synthetic-fuel technology, and Japan had ample coal despite its uneven quality. A short-war strategy still needed safeguards against the known causes of defeat if the war lasted longer than planned.
Chapter · 8:42-11:19
Japan's long-war infrastructure problem
Japan cannot repair its industrial weakness in one year, but a January 1939 program could expand infrastructure and obtain German synthetic-fuel technology.