Iwo Jima, Okinawa, the fire raids on Tokyo and Nagoya rang in Jap ears like an overture to defeat. Moscow's denunciation of the Russo-Japanese neutrality pact sounded like the very crack of doom.
In the face of it, neither the tiger tough ness nor the political agility of Premier General Kuniaki Koiso were of any avail. Four times in eight months of office he had staved off the inevitable by reshuffling his cabinet. Now he shuffled across the ancient moat to the Imperial Palace. Be hind the unmortared walls he bowed before Emperor Hirohito, confessed his failures, offered his apologies...
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