Prime Minister Hideki Tojo, the Imperial Army general who more than anyone else had led Japan into war, and whose bespectacled visage represented to the American public the embodiment of aggressive Japanese militarism, sent a fiery message to the Saipan garrison: “Because the fate of the Japanese empire depends on the result of your operation, inspire the spirit of the officers and men and to the very end continue to destroy the enemy gallantly and persistently, thus alleviate the anxiety of our Emperor.” Emperor Hirohito himself chimed in with his own blunt message. “You must hold Saipan.”
