Debate over the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 1

Debate over the atomic bombings of Hiroshima

and Nagasaki

The Fat Man mushroom cloud resulting from the

nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rises 18 km (11
mi, 60,000 ft) into the air from the hypocenter.

“
The atomic bomb was more than a weapon of terrible destruction; it was a psychological weapon.

”
[1]
—Former U.S. Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson, 1947

The debate over the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki concerns the United States’ atomic bombings
of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 August and 9 August 1945 at the close of the Second World War (1939–45). The
role of the bombings in Japan's surrender and the U.S.'s ethical justification for them remains the subject of scholarly
and popular debate.
In 2005 in an overview of historiography about the matter, J. Samuel Walker wrote that "the controversy over the use
of the bomb seems certain to continue."[2] Walker noted that "The fundamental issue that has divided scholars over a
period of nearly four decades is whether the use of the bomb was necessary to achieve victory in the war in the
Pacific on terms satisfactory to the United States."[2]
Supporters of the bombings generally assert that they caused the Japanese surrender, preventing massive casualties
on both sides in the planned invasion of Japan: Kyūshū was to be invaded in October 1945 and Honshū five months
later. Those who oppose the bombings argue that it was simply an extension of the already fierce conventional
bombing campaign[3] and, therefore, militarily unnecessary,[4] inherently immoral, a war crime, or a form of state
terrorism.[5]
Debate over the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 2

Support

Preferable to invasion

“
There were those who considered that the atomic bomb should never have been used at all. I cannot associate myself with such ideas… I am
surprised that very worthy people—but people who in most cases had no intention of proceeding to the Japanese front themselves—should
”
adopt a position that rather than throw this bomb we should have sacrificed a million American and a quarter of a million British lives…

[6]
Winston Churchill, leader of the Opposition, in a speech to the British House of Commons, August 1945

Those who argue in favor of the

decision to drop the atom bombs argue
that massive casualties on both sides
would have occurred in Operation
Downfall, the planned invasion of
Japan.[7]

The U.S. side anticipated losing many

soldiers in the planned invasion of
Japan, although the actual number of
expected fatalities and wounded is
subject to some debate. U.S. President
Truman stated after the war that he had
been advised that U.S. casualties could
range from 250,000 to one million
men.[8] In a study done by the Joint
Chiefs of Staff in April 1945, the A map outlining the Japanese and U.S. (but not other Allied) ground forces scheduled to
figures of 7.45 casualties per 1,000 take part in the ground battle for Japan. Two landings were planned:
(1) Olympic—the invasion of the southern island, Kyūshū,
man-days and 1.78 fatalities per 1,000
(2) Coronet—the invasion of the main island, Honshū.
man-days were developed. This
implied that the two planned
campaigns to conquer Japan would cost 1.6 million U.S. casualties, including 370,000 dead.[9]

In addition, millions of Japanese military and civilian casualties were expected.[10] An Air Force Association history
says, "Millions of women, old men, and boys and girls had been trained to resist by such means as attacking with
bamboo spears and strapping explosives to their bodies and throwing themselves under advancing tanks,"[11] and
also that "[t]he Japanese cabinet had approved a measure extending the draft to include men from ages fifteen to
sixty and
Debate over the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 3

women from seventeen to forty-five (an additional 28

million people).[12]
Supporters also point to an order given by the Japanese
War Ministry on 1 August 1944, ordering the disposal
and execution of all Allied prisoners of war, numbering
over 100,000, if an invasion of the Japanese mainland
took place.[13]
Nearly 500,000 Purple Heart medals were
manufactured in anticipation of the casualties resulting
from the invasion of Japan. To the present date, all the
American military casualties of the sixty years
following the end of World War II—including the
Korean and Vietnam Wars—have not exceeded that
number. In 2003, there were still 120,000 of these
Purple Heart medals in stock.[14] There are so many in
surplus that combat units in Iraq and Afghanistan are
able to keep Purple Hearts on-hand for immediate
award to wounded soldiers on the field.[14]

Speedy end of war saved lives

Supporters of the bombing also argue that waiting for March 1946's Operation Coronet was planned to take Tokyo with a
the Japanese to surrender was not a cost-free option. landing of 25 divisions, compared to D-Day's 12 Divisions.
"For China alone, depending upon what number one
chooses for overall Chinese casualties, in each of the ninety-seven months between July 1937 and August 1945,
somewhere between 100,000 and 200,000 persons perished, the vast majority of them noncombatants. For the other
[Asian states] alone, the average probably ranged in the tens of thousands per month, but the actual numbers were
almost certainly greater in 1945, notably due to the mass death in a famine in Vietnam. Newman concluded that each
month that the war continued in 1945 would have produced the deaths of 'upwards of 250,000 people, mostly Asian
but some Westerners.'"[15] [16]

The end of the war also liberated millions of laborers working in harsh conditions under a forced mobilization. In the
Dutch East Indies, there was a "forced mobilization of some 4 million—although some estimates are as high as 10
million—romusha (manual laborers)...About 270,000 romusha were sent to the Outer Islands and Japanese-held
territories in Southeast Asia, where they joined other Asians in performing wartime construction projects. At the end
of the war, only 52,000 were repatriated to Java."[17]
The firebombing of Tokyo had killed well over 100,000 people in Japan since February 1945, directly and indirectly.
Intensive conventional bombing would have continued or increased prior to an invasion. The submarine blockade
and the United States Army Air Forces's mining operation, Operation Starvation, had effectively cut off Japan's
imports. A complementary operation against Japan's railways was about to begin, isolating the cities of southern
Honshū from the food grown elsewhere in the Home Islands. "Immediately after the defeat, some estimated that
10 million people were likely to starve to death," noted historian Daikichi Irokawa.[18] Meanwhile, fighting
continued in The Philippines, New Guinea and Borneo, and offensives were scheduled for September in southern
China and Malaya. The Soviet invasion of Manchuria, had in the week before the surrender caused over 80,000
deaths.[19]
Philippine justice Delfin Jaranilla, member of the Tokyo tribunal, wrote in his judgment:
Debate over the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 4

"If a means is justified by an end, the use of the atomic bomb was justified for it brought Japan to her knees
and ended the horrible war. If the war had gone longer, without the use of the atomic bomb, how many
thousands and thousands of helpless men, women and children would have needlessly died and suffer ...?"[20]

Part of "total war"

Supporters of the bombings have argued that the Japanese government
had promulgated a National Mobilization Law and waged total war,
ordering many civilians (including women and children) to work in
factories and military offices and to fight against any invading force.
Father John A. Siemes, professor of modern philosophy at Tokyo's
Catholic University, and an eyewitness to the atomic bomb attack on
Hiroshima wrote:

"We have discussed among ourselves the ethics of the use

of the bomb. Some consider it in the same category as
poison gas and were against its use on a civil population.
Others were of the view that in total war, as carried on in
Japan, there was no difference between civilians and
soldiers, and that the bomb itself was an effective force
Chinese civilians massacred during Japan's
tending to end the bloodshed, warning Japan to surrender campaign of total war in Xuzhou.
and thus to avoid total destruction. It seems logical to me
that he who supports total war in principle cannot complain of war against civilians."[21]

Supporters of the bombings have emphasized the strategic significance of the targets. Hiroshima was used as
headquarters of the Fifth Division and the 2nd General Army, which commanded the defense of southern Japan with
40,000 military personnel in the city. Hiroshima was a communication center, an assembly area for troops, a storage
point and had several military factories as well.[19] [22] [23] Nagasaki was of great wartime importance because of its
wide-ranging industrial activity, including the production of ordnance, ships, military equipment, and other war
materials.[24]

An article published in the International Review of the Red Cross notes that, with respect to the "anti-city" or "blitz"
strategy, that "in examining these events in the light of international humanitarian law, it should be borne in mind
that during the Second World War there was no agreement, treaty, convention or any other instrument governing the
protection of the civilian population or civilian property."[25] The Blitz was not one of the charges against Hermann
Göring, commander of the Luftwaffe, at the Nuremberg Trials.[26]
On 30 June 2007, Japan's defense minister Fumio Kyuma said the dropping of atomic bombs on Japan by the United
States during World War II was an inevitable way to end the war. Kyuma said "I now have come to accept in my
mind that in order to end the war, it could not be helped (Shikata ga nai) that an atomic bomb was dropped on
Nagasaki and that countless numbers of people suffered great tragedy." Kyuma, who is from Nagasaki, said the
bombing caused great suffering in the city, but he does not resent the U.S. because it prevented the Soviet Union
from entering the war with Japan.[27] Kyuma's comments were similar to those made by Emperor Hirohito when, in
his first ever press conference given in Tokyo in 1975, he was asked what he thought of the bombing of Hiroshima,
and answered: "It's very regrettable that nuclear bombs were dropped and I feel sorry for the citizens of Hiroshima
but it couldn't be helped (Shikata ga nai) because that happened in wartime."[28]
Nagasaki mayor Tomihisa Taue protested against Kyuma, and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe apologized over Kyuma's
remark to Hiroshima A-bomb survivors.[29] In the wake of the outrage provoked by his statements, Kyuma had to
resign on 3 July.[30]
Debate over the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 5

In early July, on his way to Potsdam, Truman had re-examined the decision to use the bomb. In the end, Truman
made the decision to drop the atomic bombs on Japan. His stated intention in ordering the bombings was to bring
about a quick resolution of the war by inflicting destruction, and instilling fear of further destruction, that was
sufficient to cause Japan to surrender.[31]
In his speech to the Japanese people presenting his reasons for surrender, the emperor referred specifically to the
atomic bombs, stating that if they continued to fight it would result in "...an ultimate collapse and obliteration of the
Japanese nation..."[32] In his Rescript to the Soldiers and Sailors, delivered on 17 August, he focused however on the
impact of the Soviet invasion, omitting any reference to the atomic bombings.

Japan's leaders refused to surrender

Some historians see ancient Japanese warrior traditions as a major factor in the resistance in the Japanese military to
the idea of surrender. According to one Air Force account,
"The Japanese code of bushido—"the way of the warrior"—was deeply ingrained. The concept of
Yamato-damashii equipped each soldier with a strict code: never be captured, never break down, and
never surrender. Surrender was dishonorable. Each soldier was trained to fight to the death and was
expected to die before suffering dishonor. Defeated Japanese leaders preferred to take their own lives in
the painful samurai ritual of seppuku (called hara kiri in the West). Warriors who surrendered were not
deemed worthy of regard or respect."[12]
Japanese militarism was aggravated by the Great Depression, and had resulted in countless assassinations of
reformers attempting to check military power, among them Takahashi Korekiyo, Saitō Makoto, and Inukai Tsuyoshi.
This created an environment in which opposition to war was a much riskier endeavor.[33]
According to historian Richard B. Frank,
"The intercepts of Japanese Imperial Army and Navy messages disclosed without exception that Japan's
armed forces were determined to fight a final Armageddon battle in the homeland against an Allied
invasion. The Japanese called this strategy Ketsu Go (Operation Decisive). It was founded on the
premise that American morale was brittle and could be shattered by heavy losses in the initial invasion.
American politicians would then gladly negotiate an end to the war far more generous than
unconditional surrender."[34]
The U.S. Department of Energy's history of the Manhattan Project lends some credence to these claims, saying that
military leaders in Japan
".... also hoped that if they could hold out until the ground invasion of Japan began, they would be able
to inflict so many casualties on the Allies that Japan still might win some sort of negotiated
settlement."[35]
While some members of the civilian leadership did use covert diplomatic channels to attempt peace negotiation, they
could not negotiate surrender or even a cease-fire. Japan could legally enter into a peace agreement only with the
unanimous support of the Japanese cabinet, and in the summer of 1945, the Japanese Supreme War Council,
consisting of representatives of the Army, the Navy and the civilian government, could not reach a consensus on
how to proceed.[33]
A political stalemate developed between the military and civilian leaders of Japan, the military increasingly
determined to fight despite all costs and odds and the civilian leadership seeking a way to negotiate an end to the
war. Further complicating the decision was the fact that no cabinet could exist without the representative of the
Imperial Japanese Army. This meant that the Army and the Navy could veto any decision by having its Minister
resign, thus making it the most powerful posts on the SWC. In early August 1945 the cabinet was equally split
between those who advocated an end to the war on one condition, the preservation of the Kokutai, and those who
insisted on three other conditions:[36]
Debate over the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 6

1. Leave disarmament and demobilization to Imperial General Headquarters

2. No occupation of the Japanese Home Islands, Korea, or Formosa
3. Delegation to the Japanese government of the punishment of war criminals
The "hawks" consisted of General Korechika Anami, General Yoshijiro Umezu and Admiral Soemu Toyoda and
were led by Anami. The "doves" consisted of Prime Minister Kantaro Suzuki, Naval Minister Mitsumasa Yonai and
Minister of Foreign Affairs Shigenori Togo and were led by Togo.[33] Under special permission of the Emperor
Shōwa (Hirohito), the president of the Privy council, Kiichiro Hiranuma, was also a member of the imperial
conference. For him, the preservation of the Kokutai implied not only that of the Imperial institution but also the
continuation of the emperor's reign.[37]
Japan had an example of unconditional surrender in the German Instrument of Surrender. On 26 July, Truman and
other allied leaders issued The Potsdam Declaration outlining terms of surrender for Japan. The declaration stated
that "The alternative for Japan is prompt and utter destruction." It was rejected. The Emperor, who was waiting for a
Soviet reply to Japanese peace feelers, made no move to change the government position.[38] In the PBS
documentary "Victory in the Pacific" (2005), broadcast in the "American Experience" series, the historian Donald
Miller argues that in the days after the declaration, the Emperor seemed more concerned with moving the Imperial
Regalia of Japan to a secure location than he was with "the destruction of his country." This comment is based on the
declarations made by the Emperor to Koichi Kido on 25 and 31 July 1945, when he ordered the Lord Keeper of the
Privy Seal of Japan to protect "at all cost" the Imperial Regalia.[39]
It has sometimes been argued that Japan would have surrendered if simply guaranteed that the Emperor would be
allowed to continue as formal head of state. However, Japanese diplomatic messages regarding a possible Soviet
mediation—intercepted through Magic, and made available to Allied leaders—have been interpreted by some
historians to mean that "the dominant militarists insisted on preservation of the old militaristic order in Japan, the
one in which they ruled."[34] They also faced potential death sentences in trials for Japanese war crimes if they
surrendered.[16] This was also what occurred in the International Military Tribunal for the Far East and other
tribunals.
Professor of history Robert James Maddox wrote that "Another myth that has attained wide attention is that at least
several of Truman’s top military advisers later informed him that using atomic bombs against Japan would be
militarily unnecessary or immoral, or both. There is no persuasive evidence that any of them did so. None of the
Joint Chiefs ever made such a claim, although one inventive author has tried to make it appear that Leahy did by
braiding together several unrelated passages from the admiral’s memoirs. Actually, two days after Hiroshima,
Truman told aides that Leahy had 'said up to the last that it wouldn’t go off.'" "Neither MacArthur nor Nimitz ever
communicated to Truman any change of mind about the need for invasion or expressed reservations about using the
bombs. When first informed about their imminent use only days before Hiroshima, MacArthur responded with a
lecture on the future of atomic warfare and even after Hiroshima strongly recommended that the invasion go
forward. Nimitz, from whose jurisdiction the atomic strikes would be launched, was notified in early 1945. 'This
sounds fine,' he told the courier, 'but this is only February. Can’t we get one sooner?'" "The best that can be said
about Eisenhower’s memory is that it had become flawed by the passage of time." "Notes made by one of Stimson’s
aides indicate that there was a discussion of atomic bombs, but there is no mention of any protest on Eisenhower’s
part."[40]
Maddox also wrote that "Even after both bombs had fallen and Russia entered the war, Japanese militants insisted on
such lenient peace terms that moderates knew there was no sense even transmitting them to the United States.
Hirohito had to intervene personally on two occasions during the next few days to induce hardliners to abandon their
conditions."[40] "That they would have conceded defeat months earlier, before such calamities struck, is far-fetched
to say the least."[41]
Another argument by Tsuyoshi Hasegawa is that it was the Soviet declaration of war in the days between the
bombings that caused the surrender. After the war, Admiral Soemu Toyoda said, "I believe the Russian participation
Debate over the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 7

in the war against Japan rather than the atom bombs did more to hasten the surrender."[42] Prime Minister Suzuki
also declared that the entry of the USSR into the war made "the continuance of the war impossible."[43] Upon
hearing news of the event from Foreign Minister Togo, Suzuki immediately said, "Let us end the war," and agreed to
finally convene an emergency meeting of the Supreme Council to end the war. The official British history, The War
Against Japan, also writes that the Soviet declaration of war "brought home to all members of the Supreme Council
the realization that the last hope of a negotiated peace had gone and there was no alternative but to accept the Allied
terms sooner or later."
The "one condition" faction, led by Togo, seized on the bombing as decisive justification of surrender. Kōichi Kido,
one of Emperor Hirohito's closest advisers, stated: "We of the peace party were assisted by the atomic bomb in our
endeavor to end the war." Hisatsune Sakomizu, the chief Cabinet secretary in 1945, called the bombing "a golden
opportunity given by heaven for Japan to end the war."[44]

Opposition

Fundamentally immoral
On 8 August 1945, Albert Camus addressed the bombing of Hiroshima
in an editorial in the French newspaper Combat:
"Mechanized civilization has just reached the ultimate
stage of barbarism. In a near future, we will have to
choose between mass suicide and intelligent use of
scientific conquests[...] This can no longer be simply a
prayer; it must become an order which goes upward from
the peoples to the governments, an order to make a
definitive choice between hell and reason."[45]

In 1946, a report by the Federal Council of Churches entitled Atomic

Warfare and the Christian Faith, includes the following passage:
"As American Christians, we are deeply penitent for the
irresponsible use already made of the atomic bomb. We
are agreed that, whatever be one's judgment of the war in
principle, the surprise bombings of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki are morally indefensible."
The bombings as war crimes
The cenotaph at the Hiroshima Peace Park is
inscribed with an ambiguous sentence: "Let all
the souls here rest in peace for we shall not
repeat the evil." This construction, natural in the
Japanese language, was intended to memorialize
the victims of Hiroshima without politicizing the
issue.

A number of notable individuals and organizations have criticized the

bombings, many of them characterizing them as war crimes, crimes against humanity, and/or state terrorism. Two
early critics of the bombings were Albert Einstein and Leo Szilard, who had together spurred the first bomb research
in 1939 with a jointly written letter to President Roosevelt. Szilard, who had gone on to play a major role in the
Manhattan Project, argued:
"Let me say only this much to the moral issue involved: Suppose Germany had developed two bombs
before we had any bombs. And suppose Germany had dropped one bomb, say, on Rochester and the
other on Buffalo, and then having run out of bombs she would have lost the war. Can anyone doubt that
we would then have defined the dropping of atomic bombs on cities as a war crime, and that we would
have sentenced the Germans who were guilty of this crime to death at Nuremberg and hanged them?"[46]
Debate over the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 8

A number of scientists who worked on the bomb were against its use. Led by Dr. James Franck, seven scientists
submitted a report to the Interim Committee (which advised the President) in May 1945, saying:
"If the United States were to be the first to release this new means of indiscriminate destruction upon
mankind, she would sacrifice public support throughout the world, precipitate the race for armaments,
and prejudice the possibility of reaching an international agreement on the future control of such
weapons."[47]
Mark Selden writes, "Perhaps the most trenchant contemporary critique of the American moral position on the bomb
and the scales of justice in the war was voiced by the Indian jurist Radhabinod Pal, a dissenting voice at the Tokyo
War Crimes Tribunal, who balked at accepting the uniqueness of Japanese war crimes. Recalling Kaiser Wilhelm II's
account of his duty to bring World War I to a swift end—"everything must be put to fire and sword; men, women
and children and old men must be slaughtered and not a tree or house be left standing." Pal observed:
"This policy of indiscriminate murder to shorten the war was considered to be a crime. In the Pacific war
under our consideration, if there was anything approaching what is indicated in the above letter of the
German Emperor, it is the decision coming from the Allied powers to use the bomb. Future generations
will judge this dire decision...If any indiscriminate destruction of civilian life and property is still illegal
in warfare, then, in the Pacific War, this decision to use the atom bomb is the only near approach to the
directives of the German Emperor during the first World War and of the Nazi leaders during the second
World War."
Selden mentions another critique of the nuclear bombing, which he says the U.S. government effectively suppressed
for twenty-five years, as worth mention. On 11 August 1945, the Japanese government filed an official protest over
the atomic bombing to the U.S. State Department through the Swiss Legation in Tokyo, observing that:
"Combatant and noncombatant men and women, old and young, are massacred without discrimination
by the atmospheric pressure of the explosion, as well as by the radiating heat which result therefrom.
Consequently there is involved a bomb having the most cruel effects humanity has ever known. . . . The
bombs in question, used by the Americans, by their cruelty and by their terrorizing effects, surpass by
far gas or any other arm, the use of which is prohibited. Japanese protests against U.S. desecration of
international principles of war paired the use of the atomic bomb with the earlier firebombing, which
massacred old people, women and children, destroying and burning down Shinto and Buddhist temples,
schools, hospitals, living quarters, etc. . . . They now use this new bomb, having an uncontrollable and
cruel effect much greater than any other arms or projectiles ever used to date. This constitutes a new
crime against humanity and civilization."[48]
Selden concludes that despite the war crimes committed by the Empire of Japan, nevertheless, "the Japanese protest
correctly pointed to U.S. violations of internationally accepted principles of war with respect to the wholesale
destruction of populations."[48]
In 1963 the bombings were the subject of a judicial review in Ryuichi Shimoda et al. v. The State.[49] On the 22nd
anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, the District Court of Tokyo declined to rule on the legality of nuclear
weapons in general, but found that "the attacks upon Hiroshima and Nagasaki caused such severe and indiscriminate
suffering that they did violate the most basic legal principles governing the conduct of war."[50]
In the opinion of the court, the act of dropping an atomic bomb on cities was at the time governed by international
law found in the Hague Regulations on Land Warfare of 1907 and the Hague Draft Rules of Air Warfare of
1922–1923[51] and was therefore illegal.[52]
As the first military use of nuclear weapons, the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki represent to some the crossing
of a crucial barrier. Peter Kuznick, director of the Nuclear Studies Institute at American University, wrote of
President Truman:
Debate over the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 9

”He knew he was beginning the process of annihilation of the species. It was not just a war crime; it was
a crime against humanity."[53]
Takashi Hiraoka, mayor of Hiroshima, upholding nuclear disarmament, said in a hearing to The Hague International
Court of Justice (ICJ):
"It is clear that the use of nuclear weapons, which cause indiscriminate mass murder that leaves [effects
on] survivors for decades, is a violation of international law".[54] [55]
Iccho Itoh, the mayor of Nagasaki, declared in the same hearing:
"It is said that the descendants of the atomic bomb survivors will have to be monitored for several
generations to clarify the genetic impact, which means that the descendants will live in anxiety for
[decades] to come. [...] with their colossal power and capacity for slaughter and destruction, nuclear
weapons make no distinction between combatants and non-combatants or between military installations
and civilian communities [...] The use of nuclear weapons [...] therefore is a manifest infraction of
international law."[54]
Although bombings do not meet the definition of genocide, some consider that this definition is too strict, and that
these bombings do represent a genocide.[56] [57] For example, University of Chicago historian Bruce Cumings states
there is a consensus among historians to Martin Sherwin's statement, that "the Nagasaki bomb was gratuitous at best
and genocidal at worst."[58]
The scholar R. J. Rummel instead extends the definition of genocide to what he calls democide, and includes the
major part of deaths from the atom bombings in these. His definition of democide includes not only genocide, but
also an excessive killing of civilians in war, to the extent that this is against the agreed rules for warfare; he argues
that indeed the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were war crimes, and thus democide[59] . Rummel quotes
among others an official protest from the US government in 1938 to Japan, for its bombing of Chinese cities:
"The bombing of non-combatant populations violated international and humanitarian laws."
He also considers excess deaths of civilians in firestorms caused by conventional means, such as in Tokyo, as acts of
democide.
In 1967, Noam Chomsky described the atomic bombings as "among the most unspeakable crimes in history".
Chomsky pointed to the complicity of the American people in the bombings, referring to the bitter experiences they
had undergone prior to the event as the cause for their acceptance of its legitimacy.[60] [61]
In 2007, a group of intellectuals in Hiroshima established an unofficial body called International Peoples’ Tribunal
on the Dropping of Atomic Bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. On July 16, 2007, it delivered its verdict, stating:
"The Tribunal finds that the nature of damage caused by the atomic bombs can be described as
indiscriminative extermination of all life forms or inflicting unnecessary pain to the survivors".
About the legality and the morality of the action, the unofficial tribunal found:
"The (- - -) use of nuclear weapons in Hiroshima and Nagasaki was illegal in the light of the principles and
rules of International Humanitarian Law applicable in armed conflicts, since the bombing of both cities, made
civilians the object of attack, using nuclear weapons that were incapable of distinguishing between civilians
and military targets and consequently, caused unnecessary suffering to the civilian survivors".[62]
Debate over the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 10

Militarily unnecessary
The 1946 United States Strategic Bombing Survey, written by Paul Nitze, concluded that the atomic bombs had been
unnecessary to the winning of the war. After reviewing numerous documents, and interviewing hundreds of Japanese
civilian and military leaders after Japan surrendered, Nitze reported:
Based on a detailed investigation of all the facts, and supported by the testimony of the surviving
Japanese leaders involved, it is the Survey's opinion that certainly prior to 31 December 1945, and in all
probability prior to 1 November 1945, Japan would have surrendered even if the atomic bombs had not
been dropped, even if Russia had not entered the war, and even if no invasion had been planned or
contemplated.[63] [64]
This conclusion assumed that a conventional fire-bombing attack would have continued, with ever-increasing
numbers of B-29s, and a greater level of destruction to Japan's cities and population.[65] One of Nitze's most
influential sources was Prince Fumimaro Konoe, who responded to a question asking whether Japan would have
surrendered if the atomic bombs had not been dropped by saying that resistance would have continued through
November or December, 1945.[66]
Historians, such as Bernstein, Hasegawa, and Newman, have criticized Nitze for drawing a conclusion that, they say,
went far beyond what the available evidence warranted, in order to promote the reputation of the Air Force at the
expense of the Army and Navy.[67] [68] [69]
Dwight D. Eisenhower wrote in his memoir The White House Years:
In 1945 Secretary of War Stimson, visiting my headquarters in Germany, informed me that our
government was preparing to drop an atomic bomb on Japan. I was one of those who felt that there were
a number of cogent reasons to question the wisdom of such an act. During his recitation of the relevant
facts, I had been conscious of a feeling of depression and so I voiced to him my grave misgivings, first
on the basis of my belief that Japan was already defeated and that dropping the bomb was completely
unnecessary, and secondly because I thought that our country should avoid shocking world opinion by
the use of a weapon whose employment was, I thought, no longer mandatory as a measure to save
American lives.[70] [71]
Other U.S. military officers who disagreed with the necessity of the bombings include General of the Army Douglas
MacArthur,[72] [73] Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy (the Chief of Staff to the President), Brigadier General Carter
Clarke (the military intelligence officer who prepared intercepted Japanese cables for U.S. officials),[71] and Fleet
Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Commander in Chief of the Pacific Fleet.[74]
"The Japanese had, in fact, already sued for peace. The atomic bomb played no decisive part, from a purely
military point of view, in the defeat of Japan." Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Commander in Chief of the
U.S. Pacific Fleet.[64]
"The use of [the atomic bombs] at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was of no material assistance in our war against
Japan. The Japanese were already defeated and ready to surrender because of the effective sea blockade and
the successful bombing with conventional weapons... The lethal possibilities of atomic warfare in the future
are frightening. My own feeling was that in being the first to use it, we had adopted an ethical standard
common to the barbarians of the Dark Ages. I was not taught to make war in that fashion, and wars cannot be
won by destroying women and children." Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy, Chief of Staff to President
Truman.[75]
Historian Tsuyoshi Hasegawa's research has led him to conclude that the atomic bombings themselves were not even
the principal reason for capitulation. Instead, he contends, it was the swift and devastating Soviet victories in
Manchuria that forced the Japanese surrender on 15 August 1945,[76] though the War Council did not know the
extent of the losses to the Soviets in China at that time.
Debate over the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 11

State terrorism
Historical accounts indicate that the decision to use the atomic bombs was made in order to provoke an early
surrender of Japan by use of an awe-inspiring power. These observations have caused some commentators to state
that the incident was an act of "war terrorism". Michael Walzer wrote, "... And, finally, there is war terrorism: the
effort to kill civilians in such large numbers that their government is forced to surrender. Hiroshima seems to me the
classic case."[77] This type of claim eventually prompted historian Robert P. Newman, a supporter of the bombings,
to argue that the practice of terrorism is justified in some cases.[78]
Certain scholars and historians have characterized the atomic bombings of Japan as a form of state terrorism. This
interpretation centers around a definition of terrorism as the targeting of innocents to achieve a political goal. As
Frances V. Harbour points out, the meeting of the Target Committee in Los Alamos on 10 and 11 May 1945
suggested targeting the large population centers of Kyoto or Hiroshima for a "psychological effect" and to make "the
initial use sufficiently spectacular for the importance of the weapon to be internationally recognized."[79] [80] As
such, Professor Harbour suggests the goal was to create terror for political ends both in and beyond Japan.[80]
However, Burleigh Taylor Wilkins has written that it stretches the meaning of "terrorism" to include wartime
acts.[81]

Japanese nuclear weapons program undeveloped

Post war claims that the Japanese nuclear research and development efforts were near completion, and therefore
justified an attack, were not true.[82] [83] [84] This position has been refuted by historians, who have found that the
Japanese nuclear program was comparably undeveloped, even in comparison to the German nuclear energy
project.[85] [86]
A review of this theory by Department of Energy employee Roger M. Anders appeared in the journal Military
Affairs:
Journalist Wilcox' book describes the Japanese wartime atomic energy projects. This is laudable, in that it
illuminates a little-known episode; nevertheless, the work is marred by Wilcox's seeming eagerness to show
that Japan created an atomic bomb. Tales of Japanese atomic explosions, one a fictional attack on Los
Angeles, the other an unsubstantiated account of a post-Hiroshima test, begin the book. (Wilcox accepts the
test story because the author [Snell], "was a distinguished journalist"). The tales, combined with Wilcox's
failure to discuss the difficulty of translating scientific theory into a workable bomb, obscure the actual story
of the Japanese effort: uncoordinated laboratory-scale projects which took paths least likely to produce a
bomb.[87]
Debate over the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 12

Nagasaki bombing unnecessary

The second atomic bombing, on Nagasaki, came only three days after
the bombing of Hiroshima, when the devastation at Hiroshima had yet
to be fully comprehended by the Japanese.[88] The lack of time
between the bombings has led some historians to state that the second
bombing was "certainly unnecessary",[89] "gratuitous at best and
genocidal at worst",[90] and not jus in bello.[88] In response to the claim
that the atomic bombing of Nagasaki was unnecessary, Maddox wrote

Some historians have argued that while the first bomb might
have been required to achieve Japanese surrender, dropping the
second constituted a needless barbarism. However, the record
shows otherwise. American officials believed more than one
bomb would be necessary because they assumed Japanese
hard-liners would minimize the first explosion or attempt to
explain it away as some sort of natural catastrophe, which is
precisely what they did. In the three days between the bombings,
the Japanese minister of war, for instance, refused even to admit
that the Hiroshima bomb was atomic. A few hours after The black marker indicates "ground zero" of the
Nagasaki, he told the cabinet that "the Americans appeared to Nagasaki atomic bomb explosion.
have one hundred atomic bombs . . . they could drop three per
day. The next target might well be Tokyo."[40]

One day before the bombing of Nagasaki, the Emperor notified Foreign Minister Shigenori Togo of his desire to
"insure a prompt ending of hostilities". Togo wrote in his memoir that the Emperor "warned [him] that since we
could no longer continue the struggle, now that a weapon of this devastating power was used against us, we should
not let slip the opportunity [to end the war] by engaging in attempts to gain more favorable conditions."[91] The
Emperor then requested Togo to communicate his wishes to the Prime Minister.

Racism and dehumanization

Historian James J. Weingartner sees a connection between the American mutilation of Japanese war dead and the
bombings.[92] According to Weingartner both were partially the result of a dehumanization of the enemy. "[t]he
widespread image of the Japanese as sub-human constituted an emotional context which provided another
justification for decisions which resulted in the death of hundreds of thousands."[93] On the second day after the
Nagasaki bomb, Truman stated: "The only language they seem to understand is the one we have been using to
bombard them. When you have to deal with a beast you have to treat him like a beast. It is most regrettable but
nevertheless true".[94] [95]
Debate over the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 13

Impact on surrender
On the question of what role the bombings played in Japan's surrender, there are varied opinions, ranging from the
bombings being the deciding factor, to the bombs being a minor factor, to the entire question being unknowable.[96]
That the bombings were the decisive factor in ended the war was the mainstream position in the United States from
1945 through the 1960s, and is termed by some the "traditionalist" view, or pejoratively as the "patriotic
orthodoxy."[97]
Others argue that the Soviet invasion of Manchuria was instead primary or decisive.[98] [99] [100] [101] In the US, this
view has been particularly advanced by Robert Pape and Tsuyoshi Hasegawa, and found convincing by some,[102]
[103]
while criticized by others.[104] [105] [106]
In Japanese writing about the surrender, the Soviet entry into the war is considered the primary reason or equal with
the atomic bombs in many accounts,[107] while others, such as the work of Sadao Asada, give primacy to the atomic
bombings, particularly their impact on the emperor.[108] The primacy of the Soviet entry as a reason for surrender is
a long-standing view in the Japanese left, and has appeared in some Japanese junior high school textbooks.[108]
The argument about the Soviet role in Japan's surrender is connected to the argument about the Soviet role in
America's decision to drop the bomb:[99] both emphasize the importance of the Soviet Union, while the former
argues that Japan surrendered to the US out of fear of the Soviet Union, and the latter argues that the US dropped the
bombs to intimidate the Soviet Union.
Still others have argued that war-weary Japan would likely have surrendered regardless, due to a collapse of the
economy, lack of army, food, and industrial materials, threat of internal revolution, and talk of surrender since earlier
in the year, while others find this unlikely, arguing that Japan may well have, or likely would have, put up a spirited
resistance.[97]
More cautiously, historians such as Hasegawa and Asada argue that there was no single decisive external factor in
the decision to surrender, the atomic bombings, Soviet invasion, weakened condition of Japan, and threats of internal
unrest being contributing considerations, with the ultimate decision to surrender being a personal decision by the
emperor, influenced by the peace-seeking wing of the Japanese political elite.[109] [108]
A further traditional view, expressed by Japanese officials in interviews with Americans, is that the impact of the
bombings is unknowable. Some have accepted this view, while others dismiss it as evasive and pandering.[103] Any
analysis, however, cannot exclude the fact that the Emperor's speech to his nation initially announcing surrender
specifically referred to the atomic bombings as a primary reason for ending resistance: "The enemy, moreover, has
begun to employ a new most cruel bomb, the power which to do damage is indeed incalculable, taking toll of many
innocent lives. Should we continue to fight, it would only result in the ultimate collapse and obliteration of the
Japanese nation . . . but would lead also to the total extinction of human civilization. Such being the case, how are
We to save millions of Our subjects, or ourselves, to atone before the hallowed spirits of our Imperial ancestors?
This is the reason We have ordered the acceptance of the provisions of the joint declaration of the Powers."[110]

Atomic diplomacy
A further argument, discussed under the rubric of "atomic diplomacy" and advanced in a 1965 book of that name by
Gar Alperovitz, is that the bombings had as primary purpose to intimidate the Soviet Union, being the opening shots
of the Cold War.[111] Along these lines some argue that the US raced the Soviet Union and hoped to drop the bombs
and receive surrender from Japan before a Soviet entry into the Pacific war.
Others argue that such considerations played little or no role, the US being instead concerned with the defeat of
Japan, and in fact that the US desired and appreciated the Soviet entry into the Pacific war, as it hastened the
surrender of Japan.[112]
Debate over the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 14

Further reading

Debates over the bombings

• Allen, Thomas B. and Polmar, Norman (1995). Code-Name Downfall: The Secret Plan to Invade Japan And Why
Truman Dropped the Bomb. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0684804069.
Concludes the bombings were justified.
• Alperovitz, Gar (1995). The Decision To Use The Atomic Bomb And The Architecture Of An American Myth.
Knopf. ISBN 0679443312.
Weighs whether the bombings were justified or necessary, concludes they were not.
• Bernstein, Barton J. (Editor) (1976). The Atomic Bomb: The Critical Issues. Little, Brown. ISBN 0316091928.
Weighs whether the bombings were justified or necessary.
• Bird, Kai and Sherwin, Martin J. (2005). American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert
Oppenheimer. Knopf. ISBN 0375412026.
"The thing had to be done," but "Circumstances are heavy with misgiving."
• Butow, Robert (1954). Japan's Decision to Surrender. Stanford University Press. ISBN 0804704600.
Explains the conflicts and debates within the Japanese government from the onset of WWII until surrender.
Concludes the bombings were justified.
• Feis, Herbert (1961). Japan Subdued: The Atomic Bomb and the End of the War in the Pacific. Princeton
University Press.
• Frank, Richard B. (1999). Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire. Random House. ISBN ISBN
0-679-41424-X.
• Fussell, Paul (1988). Thank God For The Atom Bomb, And Other Essays. Summit Books. ISBN 0-345-36135-0.
• Grayling, A. C. (2006). Among the Dead Cities. Walker Publishing Company Inc.. ISBN 0-8027-1471-4.
Philosophical/moral discussion concerning the Allied strategy of area bombing in WWII, including the use of
atomic weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
• Hasegawa, Tsuyoshi (2005). Racing the Enemy: Stalin, Truman, and the Surrender of Japan. Belknap Press.
ISBN 0-674-01693-9.
Argues the bombs were not the deciding factor in ending the war. The Russian entrance into the Pacific war
was the primary cause for Japan's surrender.
• Maddox, Robert James (1995). Weapons for Victory: The Hiroshima Decision. University of Missouri Press.
ISBN 0826215629.
Author is diplomatic historian who favors Truman's decision to drop the atomic bombs.
• Newman, Robert P. (1995). Truman and the Hiroshima Cult. Michigan State University Press.
ISBN 0870134035.
An analysis critical of postwar opposition to the atom bombings.
• Nobile, Philip (Editor) (1995). Judgement at the Smithsonian. Marlowe and Company. ISBN 1569248419.
Covers the controversy over the content of the 1995 Smithsonian Institution exhibition associated with the
display of the Enola Gay; includes complete text of the planned (and canceled) exhibition.
• Takaki, Ronald (1995). Hiroshima: Why America Dropped the Atomic Bomb. Little, Brown. ISBN 0316831247.
• Wainstock, Dennis D. (1996). The Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb. Praeger Publishers. ISBN 0-275-95475-7.
Debate over the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 15

External links
• Reflections of a Far East Prisoner of War on the use of the atomic bombs [113]
• Annotated bibliography on the decision to use the atomic bombs on Japan [114]—The Alsos Digital Library for
Nuclear Issues
• Unconditional Surrender, Demobilization, and the Atomic Bomb [115] by Michael D. Pearlman U.S. Army
Command and General Staff College Fort Leavenworth, Kansas 66027-1352
• "The Obliteration of Hiroshima" [116], Stephen R. Shalom (from New Politics, vol. 6, no. 1 (new series), whole
no. 21, Summer 1996)
• Hiroshima: the 'White Man's Bomb' revisited: Dropping the Bomb on Japan was the final act of a bitter race war
in the Pacific. [117] by Mick Hume, Spiked, 2 August 2005. Abridged version of a 1995 article in Living Marxism.
• Yuki Tanaka and Richard Falk, "The Atomic Bombing, The Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal and the Shimoda Case:
Lessons for Anti-Nuclear Legal Movements," The Asia-Pacific Journal, Vol. 44-3-09, 2 November 2009 [118].
• Record of private talk between Winston Churchill and Generalissimo Stalin after the Plenary Session on 17 July
1945 at Potsdam [119]
• The Enola Gay Controversy - About - Overview [120]
• International Peoples’ Tribunal on the Dropping of Atomic Bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki [121]
• Hiroshima (book)

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[4] The Collins Encyclopedia of Military History, Dupuy & Dupuy, BCA 1994, page 1308
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[7] (Hasegawa 2005, pp. 298–299)
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[9] Frank, Downfall, p. 135–7.
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[18] Frank, Downfall, p. 351; citing Irokawa, The Age of Hirohito: In Search of Modern Japan (1995), p. 37.
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Debate over the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 16

[20] John Dower, Embracing Defeat, p. 473

[21] "The Avalon Project : The Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki" (http:/ / www. yale. edu/ lawweb/ avalon/ abomb/ mp25. htm). .
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[23] Hiroshima: Hubertus Hoffmann meets the only U.S. Officer on both A-Missions and one of his Victims (http:/ / www.
worldsecuritynetwork. com/ showArticle3. cfm?article_id=15045) Dr. Hubertus Hoffmann
[24] The Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima (http:/ / www. century-of-flight. net/ Aviation history/ WW2/ Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima. htm)
[25] International Review of the Red Cross no. 323, p. 347–363, The Law of Air Warfare (1998) (http:/ / www. icrc. org/ web/ eng/ siteeng0. nsf/
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[26] Stein, Stuart D. (2001-10-28). "Judgment of International Military Tribunal on Hermann Goering" (http:/ / www. ess. uwe. ac. uk/ genocide/
Goering_judgment. htm). . Retrieved 2008-03-16.
[27] "Japanese Defense Chief: Atomic Bombing 'Couldn't Be Helped'" (http:/ / www. foxnews. com/ story/ 0,2933,287453,00. html). Fox News.
30 June 2007. . Retrieved 9 July 2007.
[28] H. Bix, Hirohito and the Making of modern Japan, p. 676; J. Dower, Embracing Defeat, p. 606
[29] "Japan's Abe apologizes to Hiroshima A-bomb survivors over defense minister remark" (http:/ / www. iht. com/ articles/ ap/ 2007/ 08/ 05/
asia/ AS-GEN-Japan-Hiroshima-Anniversary. php). International Herald Tribune. 5 August 2007. . Retrieved 14 September 2007.
[30] Japan News Review "Kyuma steps down over A-bomb gaffe" 3 July 2007 (http:/ / www. japannewsreview. com/ politics/
20070703page_id=283)
[31] Allen, Thomas; Norman Polmar (1995). Code-Name Downfall. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. pp. 266–270. ISBN 0684804069.
[32] "Emperor Hirohito, Accepting the Potsdam Declaration, Radio Broadcast." (http:/ / www. mtholyoke. edu/ acad/ intrel/ hirohito. htm). 14
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[33] The Pacific War Research Society (2005). Japan's Longest Day. Oxford University Press. p. 352.
[34] Frank, Richard B. (2005-08-08). "Why Truman Dropped the Bomb" (http:/ / www. weeklystandard. com/ Content/ Public/ Articles/ 000/
000/ 005/ 894mnyyl. asp?pg=2). The Weekly Standard 010 (44). . Retrieved 2008-03-16.
[35] Rezelman, David; F.G. Gosling and Terrence R. Fehner (2000). "Japan Surrenders, August 10–15, 1945" (http:/ / www. cfo. doe. gov/
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[36] H. Bix, Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan, 2001, p. 512.
[37] Bix, ibid, p. 513
[38] Bix, Herbert (1996). "Japan's Delayed Surrender: A Reinterpretation". in Michael J. Hogan, ed.. Hiroshima in History and Memory.
Cambridge University Press. p. 290. ISBN 0-521-56682-7.
[39] Kido Koichi nikki, Tokyo, Daigaku Shuppankai, 1966, p. 1120–1121
[40] Robert, James Maddox (May–June 1995). ""The Biggest Decision: Why We Had to Drop the Atomic Bomb"" (http:/ / www.
americanheritage. com/ articles/ magazine/ ah/ 1995/ 3/ 1995_3_70_print. shtml). American Heritage. . Retrieved 2008-03-16.
[41] Maddox, 1995, p. xvii.
[42] John Toland, The Rising Sun (Modern Library Paperback Edition, 2003), .p.807
[43] Edward Bunting, World War II Day by Day (Dorling Kindersley Limited, 2001) p.652
[44] Kristof, Nicholas D. (2003-08-05). ""Blood On Our Hands?"" (http:/ / query. nytimes. com/ gst/ fullpage.
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[45] Albert Camus in Combat newspaper, 8 August 1945, available in French here (http:/ / www. matisse. lettres. free. fr/ artdeblamer/ tcombat.
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[46] "Leo Szilard, Interview: President Truman Did Not Understand." (http:/ / www. peak. org/ ~danneng/ decision/ usnews. html). U.S. News
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dannen. com/ szilard. html))
[47] John Toland, ibid, p. 762.
[48] The Atomic Bomb: Voices from Hiroshima and Nagasaki by Mark Selden, Kyoko Selden; M. E. Sharpe, 1989
[49] Shimoda et al. v. The State (http:/ / www. helpicrc. org/ ihl-nat. nsf/ 46707c419d6bdfa24125673e00508145/
aa559087dbcf1af5c1256a1c0029f14d?OpenDocument), Tokyo District Court, 7 December 1963
[50] Falk, Richard A. (1965-02-15). "The Claimants of Hiroshima". The Nation. reprinted in Richard A. Falk, Saul H. Mendlovitz eds., ed
(1966). "The Shimoda Case: Challenge and Response". The Strategy of World Order. Volume: 1. New York: World Law Fund. pp. 307–13.
[51] Boyle, Francis A. (2002). The Criminality of Nuclear Deterrence. Atlanta: Clarity Press. p. 58.
[52] Falk, op. cit., p. 308.
[53] "Hiroshima bomb may have carried hidden agenda" (http:/ / www. newscientist. com/ channel/ opinion/ dn7706. html). NewScientist.com.
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[54] November 1995 Public Sitting, in the Case of Legality of the Use by a State of Nuclear Weapons in Armed Conflicts (http:/ / www.
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[55] See also 1995 Peace Conference (http:/ / www. csi. ad. jp/ ABOMB/ mayor. html), by Takashi Hiraoka, Mayor of Hiroshima
Debate over the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 17

[56] Frey, Robert S. (2004). The Genocidal Temptation: Auschwitz, Hiroshima, Rwanda and Beyond. University Press of America.
ISBN 0761827439. Reviewed at: Rice, Sarah (2005). "The Genocidal Temptation: Auschwitz, Hiroshima, Rwanda and Beyond (Review)"
(http:/ / www. law. harvard. edu/ students/ orgs/ hrj/ iss18/ booknotes-Genocidal. shtml). Harvard Human Rights Journal 18. .
[57] Dower, John (1995). "The Bombed: Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japanese Memory". Diplomatic History 19 (2).
[58] Cumings, Bruce (1999). Parallax Visions. University Press of Duke. p. 54. Sherwin, Martin (1974). A World Destroyed: The Atomic Bomb
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[59] R. J. Rummel (1997). "Statistics of democide, ch. 13: Death by American bombings and other democide" (http:/ / www. hawaii. edu/
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[60] Noam Chomsky (23 February 1967). "The Responsibility of Intellectuals" (http:/ / www. chomsky. info/ articles/ 19670223. htm). The New
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[61] Noam Chomsky (20 April 1967). "An Exchange on "The Responsibility of Intellectuals"" (http:/ / www. chomsky. info/ debates/ 19670420.
htm). The New York Review of Books. . Retrieved 19 February 2009. "And, quite properly, he turns the question back to us: To what extent
are the British or American people responsible for the vicious terror bombings of civilians, perfected as a technique of warfare by the Western
democracies and reaching their culmination in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, surely among the most unspeakable crimes in history. To an
undergraduate in 1945–46—to anyone whose political and moral consciousness had been formed by the horrors of the 1930s, by the war in
Ethiopia, the Russian purge, the "China Incident," the Spanish Civil War, the Nazi atrocities, the Western reaction to these events and, in part,
complicity in them—these questions had particular significance and poignancy."
[62] Judgement of the International Peoples’ Tribunal on the Dropping of Atomic Bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki (http:/ / www. k3. dion. ne.
jp/ ~a-bomb/ Judgment-07-7-16. pdf)
[63] "United States Strategic Bombing Survey; Summary Report" (http:/ / www. ibiblio. org/ hyperwar/ AAF/ USSBS-PTO-Summary.
html#jstetw). United States Government Printing Office. 1946. p. 26. . Retrieved 28 July 2006.
[64] Freeman, Robert (6 August 2005). "Was the Atomic Bombing of Japan Necessary?" (http:/ / www. commondreams. org/ views06/ 0806-25.
htm). CommonDreams.org. .
[65] "United States Strategic Bombing Survey; Summary Report" (http:/ / www. ibiblio. org/ hyperwar/ AAF/ USSBS-PTO-Summary.
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[66] Gentile, 2000, p. 116. (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=ileEUxbAizAC& pg=PA116)
[67] Gentile, Gian P. (2000-12-01). How Effective is Strategic Bombing?—Lessons Learned from World War II to Kosovo (http:/ / books. google.
com/ ?id=ileEUxbAizAC& pg=PA3). NYU Press. p. 3. ISBN 978-0814731352. . Retrieved 2008-08-06. "Paul Nitze recalled in his memoirs
that he believed in July 1945 that Japan would surrender [in a matter of months] "even without the atomic bomb." ... It was natural for Nitze to
begin his analysis with a hypothesis concerning the effects of the atomic bombs on ending the war with Japan. Yet Nitze remained committed
to that notion even when the evidence—the interrogations of Japanese officials—did not reasonably support his conclusions. And Nitze's bold
statement that his conclusions on why Japan surrendered were based on "all the facts," after a mere three months of evidence gathering,
stretches the limits of believability."
[68] Hasegawa, Tsuyoshi. "The Atomic Bombs and the Soviet Invasion: What Drove Japan’s Decision to Surrender?" (http:/ / www. japanfocus.
org/ _Tsuyoshi_Hasegawa-The_Atomic_Bombs_and_the_Soviet_Invasion__What_Drove_Japan_s_Decision_to_Surrender_/ ). Japan Focus.
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[69] Newman, Robert P. (2004-08-02). "Remember the Smithsonian's Atomic Bomb Exhibit? You Only Think You Know the Truth" (http:/ /
hnn. us/ articles/ 6597. html). History News Network. George Mason University. . Retrieved 2008-08-06.
[70] Eisenhower, Dwight D. (1963). The White House Years; Mandate For Change: 1953–1956. Doubleday & Company. pp. 312–313.
[71] "Hiroshima: Quotes" (http:/ / www. doug-long. com/ quotes. htm). . Retrieved 6 August 2005.
[72] Manchester, William. American Caesar: Douglas MacArthur 1880–1964, Dell, pg. 512
[73] Norman Cousins writes of his conversations with Douglas MacArthur, "When I asked General MacArthur about the decision to drop the
bomb, I was surprised to learn he had not even been consulted. What, I asked, would his advice have been? He replied that he saw no military
justification for the dropping of the bomb. The war might have ended weeks earlier, he said, if the United States had agreed, as it later did
anyway, to the retention of the institution of the emperor." Cousins, Norman. The Pathology of Power, pg. 65, 70–71
[74] "Decision: Part I" (http:/ / www. doug-long. com/ ga1. htm). . Retrieved 6 August 2005.
[75] Leahy, William D. (1950). I was there. New York. p. 441.
[76] (Hasegawa 2005, p. 298)
[77] Walzer, Michael (2002) (PDF). Five Questions About Terrorism (http:/ / www. uni-potsdam. de/ u/ LpB/ Lehre/ WS 02-03/ Walzer on
Terror. pdf). 49. Foundation for the Study of Independent Social Ideas, Inc.. . Retrieved 2007-07-11.
[78] Newman, Robert (2004). Enola Gay and the Court of History (Frontiers in Political Communication). Peter Lang Publishing.
ISBN 0-8204-7457-6.
[79] Record Group 77, Records of the Office of the Chief of Engineers, Manhattan Engineer District, TS Manhattan Project File (1945-05-26).
"Minutes of the second meeting of the Target Committee" (http:/ / www. dannen. com/ decision/ targets. html). . Retrieved 2005-08-06. "It
was agreed that psychological factors in the target selection were of great importance. Two aspects of this are (1) obtaining the greatest
psychological effect against Japan and (2) making the initial use sufficiently spectacular for the importance of the weapon to be internationally
recognized when publicity on it is released.
Debate over the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 18

B. In this respect Kyoto has the advantage of the people being more highly intelligent and hence better able to
appreciate the significance of the weapon. Hiroshima has the advantage of being such a size and with possible
focussing from nearby mountains that a large fraction of the city may be destroyed. The Emperor's palace in Tokyo
has a greater fame than any other target but is of least strategic value."
[80] Harbour, Frances Vryling (1999). Thinking About International Ethics: Moral Theory And Cases From American Foreign Policy. Boulder,
Colorado: Westview Press. p. 133f. ISBN 0813328470.
[81] Wilkins, Burleigh Taylor (1992). Terrorism and Collective Responsibility. Routledge. p. 11. ISBN 041504152X.
[82] Maga, Timothy P. (2001). Judgment at Tokyo: the Japanese War Crimes Trials. University Press of Kentucky. pp. 51–52.
ISBN 0813121779.
[83] Snell, David (3 October 1946). "Japan Developed Atom Bomb; Russia Grabbed Scientists" (http:/ / www. reformation. org/
atlanta-constitution. html). Atlanta Constitution. .
[84] Dees, pp. 20-21
[85] Home, R.W.; Low, Morris F. (September 1993). "Postwar Scientific Intelligence Missions to Japan". Isis 84 (3): 527–537.
doi:10.1086/356550.
[86] Grunden, Walter E. (1998). "Hungnam and the Japanese Atomic Bomb: Recent Historiography of a Postwar Myth". Intelligence and
National Security 13 (2): 32–60.
[87] Anders, Roger M. (January 1986). "Review of Japan's Secret War". Military Affairs 50 (1).
[88] Polkinghorn, Brian (1994). "History Held Hostage: Learned Lessons from the Conflict over the Smithsonian Institute's Enola Gay Exhibit"
(http:/ / www. gmu. edu/ academic/ pcs/ polking. htm). George Mason University. . Retrieved 2008-08-27. References
Okamoto, Mitsou. "War Memories or History: The Enola Gay Debate and the Peace Prayer Memorial". Peace Studies Association
Conference, Tufts University, 10 March 1994.
[89] Sherwin, M: "A World Destroyed: Hiroshima and Its Legacies", page 237. Stanford University Press, 2001.
[90] Cummings, B: "Parallax Visions", page 54. University Press of Duke, 1999.
[91] Togo, Shigenori: The Cause of Japan, page 315. Simon and Schuster, 1956.
[92] James J. Weingartner (February 1992). "Trophies of War: U.S. Troops and the Mutilation of Japanese War Dead, 1941–1945" (http:/ / links.
jstor. org/ sici?sici=0030-8684(199202)61:1<53:TOWUTA>2. 0. CO;2-O). Pacific Historical Review 61 (1): 556. .
[93] Weingartner, p. 67
[94] Weingartner, p. 54.
[95] Weingardner further attributes the Truman quote to Ronald Schaffer, Wings of Judgement: American Bombings in World War II (New York,
1985), p. 171
[96] "The Japanese leaders themselves do not know the answer to that question [whether Japan would have surrendered absent the atomic
bombings], and if they cannot answer it, neither can I." (Butow 1954)
[97] Frank, Richard B. (2005-08-08). "Why Truman Dropped the Bomb" (http:/ / www. weeklystandard. com/ Content/ Public/ Articles/
000\000\005\894mnyyl. asp). The Weekly Standard 010 (44). ..
[98] Pape, Robert A. (1993). "Why Japan Surrendered" (http:/ / www. jstor. org/ stable/ 2539100). International Security (The MIT Press) 18 (2):
154–201. doi:10.2307/2539100. .
[99] (Hasegawa 2005)
[100] (Hasegawa 2007)
[101] Wilson, Ward (Spring 2007). "The Winning Weapon? Rethinking Nuclear Weapons in the Light of Hiroshima" (http:/ / belfercenter. ksg.
harvard. edu/ publication/ 855/ winning_weapon_rethinking_nuclear_weapons_in_light_of_hiroshima. html). International Security 31 (4):
162–179. doi:10.1162/isec.2007.31.4.162. .
[102] Dominick Jenkins (August 6 2005). "The bomb didn't win it" (http:/ / www. guardian. co. uk/ comment/ story/ 0,,1543754,00. html). The
Guardian. . Retrieved 2008-03-23.
[103] The World Question Center 2008 (http:/ / www. edge. org/ q2008/ q08_2. html#dysonf), Freeman Dyson, Edge – the third culture
[104] Michael Kort (January/February 2006). "Racing the Enemy: A Critical Look" (http:/ / www. bu. edu/ historic/ hs/ kort. html). Historically
Speaking: The Bulletin of the Historical Society. Boston University. . Retrieved 2008-03-23.
[105] "Book Review: Racing the Enemy" (http:/ / www. historycooperative. org/ journals/ jah/ 94. 1/ br_112. html). The Journal of American
History. June 2007. . Retrieved 2008-03-23. "This is an important book, but it is also deeply flawed in its argumentation and unconvincing in
its central argument relating to U.S. policy." (Subscription required.)
[106] "Roundtable Reviews: Racing the Enemy" (http:/ / www. h-net. org/ ~diplo/ roundtables/ #7. 2) (links to PDFs). h-net.org.
January–February 2006. . Retrieved 2008-03-23.
[107] Review of Racing the Enemy (http:/ / www. h-net. org/ ~diplo/ roundtables/ PDF/ Alperovitz-HasegawaRoundtable. pdf) by Gar Alperovitz
in H-Diplo Roundtable Volume VII, No. 2 (http:/ / www. h-net. org/ ~diplo/ roundtables/ #7. 2), 2006, p. 2, footnote 1, citing research by
Ayako Doi and Kimi Yoshida (bottom of page 7).
[108] TSUYOSHI HASEGAWA vs. SADAO ASADA: Debating Hiroshima (http:/ / www. hnn. us/ roundup/ entries/ 28318. html), in the
History News Network
[109] Hasegawa, 86
[110] James, David H. (1951). The rise and fall of the Japanese Empire. Allen & Unwin. p. 348.
Debate over the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 19

[111] Alperovitz, Gar (1965). Atomic Diplomacy: Hiroshima and Potsdam. New York: Simon and Schuster.
[112] Kort, Michael (January/February 2006). "Racing the Enemy: A Critical Look" (http:/ / www. bu. edu/ historic/ hs/ kort. html). Historically
Speaking: the Bulletin of the Historical Society VII (3). .
[113] http:/ / www. theprisonerlist. com/ 1. html
[114] http:/ / alsos. wlu. edu/ qsearch. aspx?browse=issues/ Decision+ to+ Use+ the+ Atomic+ Bomb
[115] http:/ / www. cgsc. edu/ carl/ resources/ csi/ Pearlman/ pearlman. asp
[116] http:/ / www. wpunj. edu/ newpol/ issue21/ shalom21. htm
[117] http:/ / www. spiked-online. com/ Articles/ 0000000CACD0. htm
[118] http:/ / japanfocus. org/ -Richard-Falk/ 3245
[119] http:/ / www. fco. gov. uk/ resources/ en/ pdf/ pdf14/ fco_potsdam_churchillstali170745
[120] http:/ / digital. lib. lehigh. edu/ trial/ enola/ about/
[121] http:/ / www. k3. dion. ne. jp/ ~a-bomb/ indexen. htm
Article Sources and Contributors 20

Article Sources and Contributors

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Accotink2, Addshore, Alansohn, AlexHormann, Anuraaga, Anyeverybody, Apoc2400, Artichoker, Baseballerberry2009, Bhagwad, Big Bird, Bigchalk90989, BillyTFried, Binksternet, Blansin,
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Gail, Galatee, Giovanni33, Goolbenjin, J.delanoy, Ja 62, Jacob Lundberg, James xeno, Jic241bvb, JoergenB, Johnkatz1972, Jom, Jusdafax, Jw2034, Kasaalan, Katieh5584, Keegscee, Kendrick7,
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Nkocharh, Nyttend, Oda Mari, Patricia Meadows, Persian Poet Gal, Philip Baird Shearer, Philip Trueman, Plerdsus, Prezbo, Pseudomonas, Pudeo, Raul654, Redvers, Reecej35, Richard Arthur
Norton (1958- ), Richard Keatinge, Richardshusr, Richwales, Rjwilmsi, RoyBoy, ScottyBerg, SeanNovack, Sennen goroshi, Shadowjams, Shalom Yechiel, Shoemaker's Holiday, Sidhekin,
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Image:Nagasakibomb.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Nagasakibomb.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: The picture was taken from one of the B-29
Superfortresses used in the attack.
Image:Operation Downfall - Map.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Operation_Downfall_-_Map.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: W.wolny, 1 anonymous
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Image:Nagasaki Ground Zero C2117.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Nagasaki_Ground_Zero_C2117.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: User:Fg2

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