Daihon-ei says half of the raiding force on Kyushu was shot down. "It is believed the realization of the seriousness of their position [USAF in China] led the American airmen to embark on the risky raid." Here's the good part: "The simultaneous action in Europe and East Asia [is to prepare] the American home front for the Presidential Elections ... next November."

Commentator, unabashed, says the attacks "proved the thoroughness of the Japanese air defenses," resulting in "further strengthening the fighting will of the Japanese nation." The effort must have been too much for him because he goes awry in the next paragraph:

We presume it would be a probability that to them, even though the entire body of the U.S. Pacific Fleet will have suffered a total loss in an exchange with the same blow to be inflicted on the Japanese Grand Fleet, the U.S. Navy will be able still to maintain an overwhelming number of fleet power against that of Japan in a year to come owing to her faster recruiting which she hopes to realize through the full mobilization of her gigantic ship-building facilities — a purely American way of determining probabilities.

The timing of the U.S. was good. The Japanese have been concentrating on the P.I. and West New Guinea, and likely completely overlooked the Marianas. Their last convoys were of little help as the U.S. Task Force raid on June 11 to 13 probably destroyed much of the landed material.

Saipan is the golden opportunity the Japanese have been waiting for: a naval showdown to delay the U.S. drive. The U.S. Navy has not left the protection of land-based planes, except against an unprepared foe at Guadalcanal, and even then Australian airbases were available. She will have to rely completely on carrier-based planes against an attacking Japanese force. In case of damages, the nearest U.S. base of any consequence is Pearl, 4,000 miles away, whereas Japan is only 1,500 miles away. So it's Admiral Toyoda's big chance. He was expected to fight and this is what he's been waiting for. A delay of over a week would mean having to face land-based planes from the captured Marianas. Time marches on — destiny nears.