Imperial Japanese Army secretly considered martial law in 1945, document says
The considerations were made during the final stages of World War II amid concerns that U.S. air raids would severely disrupt public order.
The Imperial Japanese Army secretly contemplated the implementation of martial law in Tokyo in January 1945, as World War II was nearing its end, according to a recently examined historical document. The study, however, significantly underestimated the potential scale of destruction resulting from extensive U.S. air raids. Martial law, which would have granted the military the authority to govern and exercise additional powers, was never enforced.
The document revealed that the army forecasted more than 13,700 fatalities in two hypothetical air raids. Nonetheless, the Great Tokyo Air Raid of March 10, 1945, resulted in approximately 100,000 deaths, predominantly in urban regions, substantially surpassing the initial projection.
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