Why the 1937 program began too late

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry theoretically owned energy policy, but lacked the authority and continuity needed to direct a long-term strategy. Between its creation in 1924-25 and 1943, it went through roughly twenty-five ministerial appointments, which prevented stable leadership and accumulated experience. The ministry also divested its iron-and-steel enterprise in 1934, helping to form Nippon Steel Corporation, before wartime ministries and the Planning Board absorbed most of its remaining functions. Major synthetic-fuel investment began around 1937, leaving too little time to build institutions, technical expertise, and industrial capacity. The later American campaign against Japanese energy and infrastructure targeted the weakness that this fragmented preparation had failed to correct.