Japan Was Unjustified Argumentative Analysis

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On the 6th of August 1945, the atomic bomb dubbed “Little Boy” was dropped on the Japanese port town of Hiroshima, killing an estimated 90,000 Japanese civilians upon impact alone. 72 hours later, a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, the capital of Kyushu Island, killing another 74,000 civilians. It can be argued that these bombings dramatically hastened the end of World War II, with Japan surrendering within a week after the Nagasaki bombings Debates about the ethics of the bombs have raged constantly since it’s detonation. While some argue that the bombs were required in order to end the war, many believe that the bombings were unjustified, as Japan was considered “militarily defeated” at the time when the nuclear weapons we deployed- the once mighty Imperial Navy had all but collapsed, and the Japanese air force was just short of completely destroyed. Tokyo was barely recovering from the March 9-10 airstrikes, which killed over 100,000 people, burnt out about 16 square miles of the city, and destroyed over 250,000 structures, and the transportation system was in …show more content…

The Japanese, being descendants of a military government once ruled by shoguns, powerful military commanders known for their tenacity and bravery on the battlefield, did not believe in unconditional surrender and were encouraged to fight to the death. Some argue that if America had not forced the idea of an unconditional surrender, and instead allowed a modified surrender that would have allowed the Japan to retain the Emperor, the Japanese would have more readily agreed to the terms of surrender. This idea is idea is backed up by evidence that showed that there were already divisions within the Japanese Supreme Council when discussing how to end the war in June, with the greatest cause of conflict being the desire to reserve the national polity by allowing Hirohito to remain as

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