Japs say Okinawa will decide war
Warn entire strategy depends on island
By the United Press
The Tokyo newspaper Yomiuri Hochi, in a remarkably frank editorial on the significance of the Okinawa invasion, warned the Jap people today that the loss of that key bastion will mean that “there can be no hope of turning the course of the war.”
The editorial, as quoted by Tokyo radio, said the “entire strategy of the Pacific” was based on the battle of Okinawa.
“The loss of Okinawa will mean the collapse of the vanguards of Japan proper,” the newspaper said.
Two other Tokyo dailies maintained the usual Jap propaganda line. The Asahi Shimbun, according to the broadcast, asserted the invasion “does not mean the war situation is turning in their [Allied] favor,” adding that at the “decisive moment everything should be thrown into the encounter.”
The Mainichi Shimbun said that “if we succeed in destroying the enemy, we will be able to turn to the offensive.”