For those who aren't aware, after the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the Imperial Japanese Navy was finished as a fighting force.
The Japanese decided to go all-in, one huge push, at Leyte and paid the final price.
Yup, but they had no choice. If they couldn't stop us liberating the Philippines, it would be only a matter of time. And time was not on their side.
They threw everything they had dislodging our forces on Leyte, and it broke their navy.
By October 1944, we were subjecting Japan to constant bombing attacks, and the Japanese war economy was coming under severe stress. It was "use it or lose it" time for the IJN.