Any military organization in a major war will sometimes ask men to make a suicide mission.
However, look at the absolute moral depravity of the commanders on the Western Front in WWI. Asking men to die by the hundreds of thousands for a hundred yards.
Look at the Japanese. Asking their men to die instead of being taken prisoner, for no military purpose.
And look at the American military experience - where the goal is to bring the men home if at all possible.
No comparison to the morality of command at the end of the day. None. A moral military does not condone suicide as a daily strategy.
Nor is it generally a winning strategy.
We were in WWI. We did trench war-fare then as well.
The Japanese, as a culture, have always prefered “Death over dishonor”. Given their history and practices, I’d say their tactics were simply custom-fitted to their fighting.
“If you cannot take the enemy’s life- deny him your humiliation.”
Given that this has been a practice they have long lived by (and admired) due to the stories of the samurai, loyalty and honor have always been held well above one’s life.
To follow that up with a small expanation that I hope sheds some insight- China (the root of philosophy in the Far East) never developed a verb tense “to be”.
This is reflected greatly in the holding of the Group (or Authority, or Higher, or...) over themselves. Even the honor of the Higher is above their own. Some people are employed fully understanding if their boss is seen to be doing something wrong- they themselves will, take the fall, and then kill themselves.
I’m not for saying “all cultures are equal” but I am for saying that Japan, as a nation, is one that has earned its prestige an influence in the world. It may not fit “morally” with your (markedly modern) American ideals, but it is genuine to themselves. Their manner of war was honestly come by.
Hell, Kamikaze is in name a tribute to one of the greatest moments in Japan’s survival. An enemy fleet was due to come and wage a war well beyond Japan’s capabilities of fending. A “devine wind” or hurricane, blew the enemy ships to pieces and the enemy never landed on Japan. Kamikaze is their word for “devine wind” and they named their suicide pilots such because to them, they were a defending power from the sky against sea powers.
And again- as was pointed out before: kamikazes were used in defense of their land, not as a tool for attack or terror. They didnt have the technology we have now, so it was their favored choice for ensuring damage. And if used effectively in the proper tactics, such a pilot (by himself, with combat supprt) could sink a carrier. One soul to destroy an entire carrier. If I was the enemy, I’d venture with those odds as well.
Hell, the very idea of breaking the enemy’s spirit by such disproportionate force was the spirit in which the fire bombing of Tokyo took place.