What is Just War Theory?

The United States’ atomic bomb attack on Japan can be considered a just war as the U.S is a legitimate authority. For a war to be considered just, the body waging the war should have legitimate authority meaning that it should be a state. The United States had a just cause to wage atomic war against Japan as the country had been given many chances to surrender during the Second World War but declined. The United States wanted to end the war as soon as possible but Japan vowed to continue fighting. The Japanese did not provide any room for dialogue and by the calculations of the Secretary of war Henry Stimson, the war would continue until the end of 1946 if the Japanese did not stand down (Bruder, 2017). President Harry S. Truman had no choice but to drop atomic bombs on Japan in order to force them to surrender. 

According to the Henry Stimson’s calculations, waging atomic bombs against the Japanese would guarantee an end to the war and more lives would be saved. His calculations were correct as the Japanese surrendered soon after the atomic bombs caused significant damages to the country. The attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki consequently ended the Second World War which would have continued for much longer. The atomic attack on Japan can be justified as the Japanese government did not want to negotiate. The imperial leadership of Japan had vowed to fight to the end. They were willing to fight for much longer while the United States government wanted to bring the war to an end. By the calculations of Henry Stimson, the benefits that the world would gain from the atomic attack were proportional to the losses that would be incurred. A lot of lives were lost as a result of the attack but a lot more lives were saved on both ends. 

Reference  

Bruder, B. (2017). The Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki & Just War Theory. Medium. Retrieved from: https://medium.com/@bruder.melo/the-atomic-bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki-just-war-theory-bb59b1ec41#_ftn2