PaxMondo -> RE: Any English book(s) devoted to Japanese War Industry? (9/29/2020 12:25:25 AM)
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There are a lot of pre-war and some war time documents available now that have been scanned and can be translated fairly efficiently online. I've spent a fair amount of time in several university libraries and ministry records rooms. Compared to what was available when AE was done, there is a plethora of data. Decisions in Japan were, and still are to a great extent, done by committee. Of course, not all committee members are equal, but you will rarely see a persons name attached to a decision, it will generally be a committee. Once the war started, postings both in commands and committees was VERY fluid. You can get those lists too. Then you have to learn what each committee did and how things actually worked; the key is very much like the US Senate: appropriations committee is very powerful: they do not create project or proposals, but they decide what gets funded and when. Example: When looking at IJN builds, it was not very efficient. Part of that was the way the projects were proposed. A proposal might have been to upgrade an Admiral's office and build 10 DD's and 20 SS's. they may have been fine with the DD's, but not the subs so it never got funded (and the Admiral didn't get his office upgrade).
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