"Defeating the Germans was not merely the Army's responsibility; it was also the Navy's responsibility. Right now, the Army was fighting the Germans desperately on the front lines, suffering enormous casualties every day. Could the Navy simply stand by and watch? If we failed to hold back the German offensive and suffered defeat, the Navy would gain no benefit either." Prime Minister Hideki Tojo continued.
"Prime Minister, the Combined Fleet's strength had only just begun to recover. We had yet to return to our strongest state. If we could hold on a while longer and allow more of our warships to enter service, our chances of victory would be much greater. Otherwise, our chances of winning now would be exceedingly slim," Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, Commander of the Combined Fleet, said.
Prime Minister Hideki Tojo shook his head. "There is no time. The German offensive is extremely fierce. Under the Germans' massive assault, the Southern Army is on the verge of being unable to hold on. Unless we can deal the German Navy a severe blow and seize control of the seas, while the Army Air Force launches an all-out attack to weaken the Germans' air superiority, the Southern Army will likely be defeated very soon. By then, the Germans will occupy the entire South Seas. Not only will our homeland be threatened, but more importantly, we will no longer be able to obtain resources from the South Seas. Military production in the homeland will come to a complete halt. This will affect not only the Army, but the Navy as well. The Navy's construction projects require vast quantities of resources."
Admiral Shigetarō Shimada and the others all grew grave.
There were still large numbers of warships under construction in the German Navy's shipyards: follow-up Unryu-class aircraft carriers, Improved Taihō-class aircraft