World Battlefronts: BATTLE OF THE PACIFIC: Imperial Navy Speaking

Suave, suntanned Admiral Hideo Yano, spokesman for the Imperial Navy, last week gave a German correspondent in Tokyo a Jap's-eye view of the Pacific war:

182;The U.S. has a mistaken belief that material superiority will win in the Far East. But Japan always so maneuvers that U.S. material superiority will not be decisive.

182;>If Americans believe that they can afford to lose more ships than the Japanese, they are wrong. You can lose ships, but you cannot indefinitely train men with the necessary fighting spirit.

182;The U.S. Navy believes that, given sufficient carriers, it can capture any Pacific island. It will meet grave disappointments, because every island held by Japan is an excellent carrier in itself. On Bougainville and Tarawa, both comparatively insignificant, the Americans learned how much they must pay for every capture. The cost will be heavier from now on.

182;Any Allied drive from India will find the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Sumatra and Malaya stoutly defended. Japanese air power centers around Singapore. Any enemy approach will be both costly and foolhardy.