Hirohito's influence on the Kamikaze attacks undertaken by Japanese aviators was marginal. The loss of the IJNAS's veteran airmen and the militarist Bushido code had a far greater influence on the Kamikaze attacks.

The various carrier battles of 1942 (especially Midway) dealt a crushing blow to the Imperial Japanese Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service; the Japanese Navy simply could not retrain and replace their veteran air crews. Furthermore, by 1944/1945 air superiority belonged to the United States Air Force; their crews were far more experienced by then, and the F6F Hellcat and F4U Corsair could outperform and outclass their Japanese counter-parts.

The IJNAS and it's inexperienced pilots were unable to directly challenge American air superiority. At this point, the Bushido code comes in. Bushido had a massive influence on the Imperial Japanese military; the Geneva Convention was considered a coward's code, and death in battle was considered preferable over surrender or living in defeat. In the end, the concepts of banzai attacks and kamikaze attacks arose amidst desperation and in the face of certain defeat.