== WHY DIDN'T JAPAN DISMANTAL THEIR BATTLESHIPS? == 

 At the Pearl Harbor attack Japan proved that the battleship was obsolete.  Yamato was not even used until the end of the war in 1945.  It must have cost them a lot to maintain it.  The 3000 crew could have been used elsewhere in the fleet.  The steel of the ship could have been used to build other ships.