Kamikaze (suicide attacks). Japanese military culture descended from the Bushido code of the samurai “loyalty and honor until death”, where defeat or capture brought shame upon one’s family and nation. It was better to die in a successful attack than to return unsuccessful, yet alive. It is by this that even in field combat, the Japanese were known for impaling their own stomachs with their sword/bayonet when faced with the alternative of being put into a POW camp, though they might live through the war to see their families again. It was this kamikaze attack and suicide for honor mentality that caught US soldiers most off-guard and came to be one of the biggest fears when facing a foe that apparently had nothing to lose by death.