Why did kamikaze start?

Answer 1

The Japanese military leaders were desperate to stop American invasion fleets beginning in 1944. Conventional air attacks by the Japanese Army & Navy units had suffered heavy casualties in air attacks on the US Navy ships that had very effective Anti-Aircraft weapons. By 1944, the Japanese were suffering heavy losses with few hits on the US ships. The Japanese had long-practiced military suicide attacks in ground combat, and now the Kamikaze suicide mission was the next logical (or emotional) step in the evolution of Japanese tactics in the face of a very dire situation.