Nagano and Japan's recognized but unaddressed limits

Were Japanese naval leaders simply fatalistic about their strategic position?

The deeper problem was more specific than fatalism: they recognized important limitations but did too little to remedy them.

Asked whether Japanese leaders were fatalistic, the answer draws a more specific distinction. They understood many of their own limits but failed to take adequate action against them. Professional respect for some admirals is kept separate from moral approval of Japan's actions in China, allowing naval competence and the wider war to be judged independently. The comparison with German leaders is sharper: Canaris receives grudging respect, Raeder is called a fantasist, and Dönitz is described as a control-minded officer who became a Nazi sycophant.