15. The Japanese were well prepared for the invasion by August 1945
To face the incoming American invasion the Japanese had amassed ten thousand kamikaze aircraft. At Okinawa, the Japanese scored an average of one hit on an American ship for every nine kamikazes launched. By late October the number of kamikazes available would have increased, though the number of available pilots by the scheduled time of the American invasion remains unknown. Japanese planning established a goal of one-hit per six launches, and the newly trained pilots were directed to target American troop transports. Japanese planners estimated that up to 400 American ships could be damaged or sunk before discharging their troops.
As was revealed after the war, the Japanese had accurately identified the beaches to be targeted by the Americans and had positioned their defenses to maximum effect. Unlike other invasions of the Second World War, there was to be no battle for air superiority, since the Japanese had converted their entire air defenses to offensive suicide weapons. The Japanese also had about 400 midget submarines, which like the kamikazes were expected to deploy in one-way missions against the invasion fleet, supported by manned torpedoes and more than 2,000 suicide boats. Although no official decision was made for the main battle to be on Kyushu, in the aftermath of its defense Japan would have expended most of its remaining assets.