The discussion about the upcoming mission among the younger officers on Yamato in the week prior to Operation Ten'ichigo had been heated, as Yoshida relates:

"The young captain of one of the destroyers grilled Admiral Kusaka's entourage: if, as the parting words of the chief of staff of the Combined Fleet indicate, the power of the Imperial Navy is really to be marshaled for this one battle, 'then why doesn't Admiral Toyoda himself venture out from his bunker at Hiyoshi and assume direct command?' He was voicing the innermost thoughts of the entire crew of this special attack force.

What are the prospects for Operation Ten'ichigo? The vehement debate among the officers continues. Those arguing that it can only fail are in the overwhelming majority.... In addition: doubts...that we will be as vulnerable as a man walking alone on a dark night carrying only a lantern;.. ..that midway we will fall victim to airborne torpedoes. (This prediction, subscribed to by a large number of the young officers, will prove to be precisely on the mark.)

Against this sharp contention that the mission is doomed to fail, chief officer of the watch Lieutenant Usubuchi..binoculars fixed on the sea at dusk, speaks in a low voice, almost a whisper: 'The side which makes no progress never wins. To lose and be brought to one's senses: that is the supreme path. 'Japan has paid too little attention to progress. We have been too finicky, too wedded to selfish ethics; we have forgotten true progress. How else can Japan be saved except by losing and coming to its senses? If Japan does not come to its senses now, when will it be saved? 'We will lead the way. We will die as harbingers of Japan's new life. That's where our real satisfaction lies, isn't it?'

Lieutenant Usubuchi's firmly held opinion becomes the general conclusion of the serious discussion continuing day after day in the wardroom. No one is able to refute it."

Yoshida Mitsuru, "Requiem for Battleship Yamato"