Imperial Japanese Army secretly considered martial law in 1945, document says

A document titled "Study of Details of Martial Law Operations Based on Assumptions (Draft)," prepared by the Eastern District Army and held by the Defense Ministry's National Institute for Defense Studies in Tokyo | JIJI

Jiji

Sep 23, 2026

The Imperial Japanese Army secretly considered imposing martial law in Tokyo in January 1945, during the final stages of World War II, amid concerns that large-scale U.S. air raids would severely disrupt public order, according to a newly reviewed historical document.

The study, however, significantly underestimated the likely scale of destruction from such air raids. Martial law, which would have allowed the military to assume administrative authority and other powers, was ultimately never imposed.

According to the document, the army estimated that more than 13,700 people would be killed in two air raids. In the Great Tokyo Air Raid of March 10, 1945, however, around 100,000 people, mainly in downtown areas, were killed — far exceeding the estimate.

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