Before the atomic bombing on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, aspects existed in the Japanese government that was desperately attempting a way to bring the war to an end. In June and July 1945, Japanese leaders tried to seek the help of the Soviets to serve as peace brokers. No direct communication took place in the U.S. regarding peace talks, but American government knew of these maneuvers, as the U.S. had for a long time been spying on the Japanese diplomatic communication. From these intercepts and decoding, the American leaders learned that some Japanese diplomats counseled complete surrender.
Aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, the Japanese formally surrendered to the Allies, making the end of the Second World War. 1 Navy troops and air force from Japan were devastated. The Japanese allied naval cordon, and heavy bombing of Japanese cities have left the nation and its economy in bad shape. 2 The attack of Japan proved to the goriest seaborne invasion more than ever, probably the most expensive as the Normandy invasion taking into context the number of allied casualties. Following the Hiroshima invasion, a section of Japanese members of the supreme war council preferred the reception of the Potsdam Declaration. 3 However, most people less favored unconditional surrender. Japan’s desperate situation became critical when the Soviet Union declared war against the country. The USSR troops launched an attack on Manchuria, dramatically devastating the Japanese position there, and the unleashing of the second bombing of Nagasaki made things even worse. 4 In August, there an attempt to carry out a military coup led by a faction of Major Kenji Hatanaka. The mutineers took over the imperial palace and torched Prime Minister Suzuki’s official residence, but in the early morning hours, the coup was defeated. 5 At midday that same day, Emperor blasted a message over the national television for the first time to declared surrender.
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For many years, the moral justification of Hiroshima and Nagasaki has always been a contentious issue. The standard claim in favor of the United States decision to unleash atomic bomb has been that, by launching such overwhelming force, the U.S. was careful not to trigger a more devastating ground war. 6 Eminent historian Tsuyoshi Hasegawa believes that the real reason Japan surrendered was because of something far less monumental and earth-shattering than the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. 7 However, even though the USSR had been allied with the British and the United States in the battle against Hitler, they were not at war with the Japanese before the Potsdam Declaration. The USSR and the Japanese had in effect reached a peace deal in 1941, which favored both allies. 8 The Soviet could pay more close attention to invading Germany without having concerns about being taken on the other faction by the Japanese, while Japan was free to focus on their brutal fights with the United States. Things only got worse the very day of the bombing of Nagasaki, when the USSR unexpectedly acted contrary to the pact, carrying out enormous attacks on vast swathes of Japanese territories that had a detrimental impact of Japanese armed forces. 9 Atomic bombing of Hiroshima has taken place previously, but it was now that the Japanese leaders' concerns increased. Hasegawa also believes that Japan was not fighting to win. 10 The Japanese leaders understood they would have to surrender eventually, but they wanted to surrender on the most favorable terms. That is to say, surrendering in a manner that would not affect their internal power structure, and prevent the military leaders from facing prosecution for war crimes. The Japanese leaders also believed that the USSR could assist them in negotiating the best deal with the United States.
Because of these events, it is believed that in August 15, 1945, the declaration of a surrender was the outcome of dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It is likely that these bombings ultimately forced Emperor Hirohito to disrupt the stalemate in the council’s and comply with the conditions of the Potsdam Declaration for the unconditional surrender given by the Allied leaders. 11 Emperor Hirohito’s attempt to intervene with the faction of those preferring capitulation was vital to winning over those hardliners who did not. 12 As such, the ending of nuclear age promoted peace. It also made it possible for armed forces leaderships to save face, as they could argue that the war was not lost on the battleground, and agreed to give in to prevent the people from more suffering. The ending of nuclear age also implied looking for better fighting strategies designed to result in many casualties on the war-weary United States that it would give up some of its demands for unconditional surrender and negotiate peace. The new peace deal would at least protect the Emperor and most likely preserve the military and safeguard them from facing trial for war crimes. This approach was declared in June 1945 as the gruesome and bloodiest Battle of Okinawa was slowly coming to an end. 13 More support was sent to Manchuria to boost the defense of Kyushu region where the United States was anticipated to invade.
In February 1945, Joseph Stalin organized a meeting with allies leaders in Yalta, vowing to invade Japan three months following Germany’s surrender. 14 Stalin stuck to his promise, and the USSR armed forces attacked Manchuria at dawn hours to the Nagasaki bombing. The invasion of Manchuria was relatively shocking for Japanese leaders who had attempted throughout that year to involve the USSR as peacemakers.
Conclusion
In summary, Hasegawa provides a compelling account that the Pacific War wound down because of the entry of the USSR, not the unleashing of the atomic bombs. After experiencing defeat at the hands of the Soviet Union troops twice in the late 1930s in Manchurian border skirmishes, the military leaders knew that the new front suggested more resistance was meaningless. By contrast, Japanese diplomats in Europe were surprised by the defeat of Hitler and conveyed their worries regarding Germany’s “fighting to the finish” approach. These diplomats also advised against supporting Hitler and thus advocated surrender for Japan’s interest. Ultimately, it was the USSR entry into the battlefield and the dropping of atomic bombs that hastened a swift surrender. However, it was long overdue as the manifestation of defeat, such as the devastating series of challenges on the home front, had been building up across time. The Japanese leaders also avoided suffering at the hands of the Nazis or subjecting the country to terrifying destruction. The unleashing of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the surrender of the Japanese were the last acts of the WWII. The most devastating weapon in the history of war had assisted bring an end to the most destructive combat in human history.
Bibliography
Dower, John W. Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II . New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2000.
Hasegawa, Tsuyoshi. Racing the Enemy: Stalin, Truman, and the Surrender of Japan. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2005.
1 Tsuyoshi Hasegawa, Racing the Enemy: Stalin, Truman, and the Surrender of Japan (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2005), 10.
2 Hasegawa, Racing the Enemy , 26
3 John W. Dower, Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2000), 33.
4 Dower, Embracing Defeat , 45.
5 Dower, 45.
6 Hasegawa, 33.
7 Dower, 50.
8 Hasegawa, 130.
9 Hasegawa 132.
10 Hasegawa, 135.
11 Hasegawa, 132
12 Hasegawa, 215
13 Hasegawa, 225.
14 Hasegawa, 178.
