How greatly did the atomic bombings affect the Japanese decision to surrender?

Answer 1

This is a very complex answer. In reality the dropping of the first atomic bomb did indeed have little effect on the Japanese wanting to surrender. Some research indicates that some Japanese became more battle hardened and were actually willing to prolong the war. But to denie it was not a factor would be reductionistic.

The truth of the matter is that Japan had been wanting to to surrender for the last four months up to the dropping of the bomb, but the terms of unconditional surrender was not to there liking. Also the USSR's declaration fo war, was a staunch blow to the Japanese plan for possible surrender. The decision to surrender was really based on who did the Japanese want to surrender to: USSR or the US. The Japanese were intolerable of communism in Japan and and elsewhere, namely China. The US was the the preferable nation to surrender to. The Atomic bombs combined with the Russian push in conquering the islands to the North, the USSR wanted to initiately take over Hokkaido the largest northern island before the end fo teh war, is what really led to the end of the war.

Remember that the Russians fought the Japanese several days after the peace treaty had been signed.

I would recommend reading Tsuyoshi Hasegawa's book, Racing the Enemy: Stalin, Truman, and the Surrender of Japan. I read last fall and it is perhaps a great persepctive of teh end of the war as it uses Russian, American, and Japanese archives in is portrayal.

I hope this helps!!

I response to the questions above
On a side note . . . the Japanese had no idea what hit them. The mobolization of Japanese troops to the Southern Island of Kyushu continued to happned even after the bombs were dropped.

After the realization of what happened, the Japanese goverment filed charges in Geneva against the US stating cruel and unusual weaponry had been used. Its rather odd that the Germans were tired under this precept, but the charges were dropped by the Japanese after the war

Every home did not have weapons.

Answer 2

At first not much. For a few days they did not realize they had been bombed by a nuclear device.

At first it was thought among Japanese that if they covered themselves with a white sheet they would not be vulnerable to tha strange rays that caused the skin to burn. This was transmitted to the population.

But after the second bomb on Nagasaki on August 9th. Japan still took its time to surrender and did so on August 15th.
Signing the surrender papers on September 2 1945.

Answer 3

They had a major effect on their decision to surrender. The Japanese people were prepared to fend off an invasion of their home islands. Every man, woman and child had been armed so as to help repel the invading force. Every home had weapons at the ready. After the atomic bombs were dropped, they realized that we were not going to give them the opportunity to kill hundreds of thousands of our soldiers, we were just going to annihilate them.

Answer 4

I think the thought of total annihilation had a lot to do with it and Germany was all but lost also and they knew they could not continue the fight on their own.

Answer 5

A very naive question. If you survived a nuclear strike what do you suppose would be going through your mind?