Marching Orders: The Untold Story of How the American Breaking of the Japanese Secret Codes Led to the Defeat of Nazi Germany and Japan

by Bruce Lee

The bottom line is that in 1943, Japan will have a surplus of some 3,785,000 metric tons of rice. This means that if Japan has a poor growing year and no imports at all, she can carry on with this surplus for one year. With “normal domestic crops and no imports at all, she could keep going for about two years. With normal domestic crops and normal imports from Formosa (but with no other imports at all), Japan could continue for more than three years.” It is obvious that Japan cannot be allowed the luxury of fighting on through 1946 with ample supplies of rice. Even without imports she can fight and maintain her civilian population through 1945. American submarines must further intensify their efforts to destroy the Japanese merchant fleet.