To fight the United States is like fighting the whole world. But it has been decided. So I will fight the best I can. - Isoroku Yamamoto

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A man of real purpose puts his faith in himself always. Sometimes he refuses even to put his faith in the gods. So from time to time, he falls into error. - Isoroku Yamamoto

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I'm against war with the United States. But I am an officer of the Imperial Navy and a subject of His Majesty the Emperor. - Isoroku Yamamoto

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Even a burglar hesitates to go back for more. - Isoroku Yamamoto

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People who don't gamble aren't worth talking to. - Isoroku Yamamoto

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Although a precise outlook on the international situation is hard for anyone to make, it is needless to say that now the time has come for the Navy, especially the Combined Fleet, to devote itself seriously to war preparations, training, and operational plans with a firm determination that a conflict with the U.S. and Great Britain is inevitable. -Isoroku Yamamoto

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Unless more efforts based upon long-range planning are put into military preparations and operations, it will be very hard to win the final victory. - Isoroku Yamamoto

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Japan has always regarded the aircraft carrier as one of the most offensive of armaments. -Isoroku Yamamoto

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Never tell anyone outside my staff that the Submarine Force and the First Air Fleet were responsible for the failure at Midway. The failure at Midway was mine. - Isoroku Yamamoto

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Even though there wasn't much damage, it's a disgrace that the skies over the imperial capital should have been defiled without a single enemy plane being shot down. It provides a regrettably graphic illustration of the saying that a bungling attack is better than the most skillful defense. - Isoroku Yamamoto

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