Editing Operation Downfall (section)

===''Kamikaze''===
Admiral [[Matome Ugaki]] was recalled to Japan in February 1945 and given command of the [[Fifth Air Fleet]] on Kyūshū. The Fifth Air Fleet was assigned the task of ''[[kamikaze]]'' attacks against ships involved in the invasion of Okinawa, [[Operation Ten-Go]], and began training pilots and assembling aircraft for the defense of Kyūshū, the first invasion target.

The Japanese defense relied heavily on ''kamikaze'' planes. In addition to fighters and bombers, they reassigned almost all of their trainers for the mission. More than 10,000 aircraft were ready for use in July (with more by October), as well as hundreds of newly built [[Shin'yō-class suicide motorboat|small suicide boat]]s to attack Allied ships offshore.

Up to 2,000 ''kamikaze'' planes launched attacks during the Battle of Okinawa, achieving approximately one hit per nine attacks. At Kyūshū, because of the more favorable circumstances (such as terrain that would reduce the Allies' radar advantage, and the impressment of wood and fabric airframe training aircraft into the ''kamikaze'' role which would have been difficult for Allied radar systems of the time to detect and track), they hoped to raise that to one for six by overwhelming the US defenses with large numbers of ''kamikaze'' attacks within a period of hours. The Japanese estimated that the planes would sink more than 400 ships; since they were training the pilots to target transports rather than carriers and destroyers, the casualties would be disproportionately greater than at Okinawa. One staff study estimated that the ''kamikazes'' could destroy a third to half of the invasion force before landing.{{sfn|Frank|pp=184–85}}

Admiral King, Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Navy, was so concerned about losses from ''kamikaze'' attacks that he and other senior naval officers argued for canceling Operation Downfall and for instead continuing the fire-bombing campaign against Japanese cities and the blockade of food and supplies until the Japanese surrendered.{{sfn|Murray|Millet|2000|pp=520–21}} However, General Marshall argued that forcing surrender that way might take several years, if ever.{{sfn|Murray|Millet|2000|p=521}} Accordingly, Marshall and United States Secretary of the Navy [[Frank Knox]] concluded the Americans would have to invade Japan to end the war, regardless of casualties.{{sfn|Murray|Millet|2000|p=521}}