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It wasn't exactly 'new' physics, it was an application of a theory built on established physics. The surprise wasn't that it was possible, but that it was technically and economically feasible.

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Well, yeah. The surprise was actually finding a way to build it (to the Germans); I don't know what Japan knew or didn't know about the science.

Japan apparently had their own atomic bomb project[0], but the military didn't consider it a priority so funding was scarce, and it was difficult to secure enough uranium.

[0]https://www.atomicheritage.org/history/japanese-atomic-bomb-...

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