Will the USA ever publicly apologise for exploding Nuclear weapons in Nagasaki & Hiroshima?

Question

The Germans have been made to apologise for their war crimes, some Japanese are now coming around to the fact that they have committed attrocities in WWII as well, but it still remains that the USA is the only country in the World to have used the "Bomb" against another nation. 1000's were wiped out.

Did the USA apologise for that, will they apologise for that, or do they have no intention of apologising for that?

Answer 1

So many Americans are depressingly, arrogantly, inhumane.

There is nothing wrong with apologizing for incinerating 200,000 mostly unarmed civilians in 2 balls of nuclear flames.

There is no dishonor in making such an apology. The apology doesn't change the fact that it saved American lives and ended the war. The past cannot be undone.

Our leaders have a hard time apologizing for wars (however, they seem to find it much easier to apologize for sex scandals). Vietnam was obviously another mistake - no apology there. (A million dead, again, mostly civilians.) Iraq is another current mistake - again, no apology will be forthcoming from there, either. (Again, mostly civilians.)

There is nothing wrong with apologizing for killing unarmed civilians. It is the honorable & civilized thing to do.

You hit an unarmed person, you're supposed to say sorry. But you kill someone, and you don't have to because they're dead? At least an apology to their families or country isn't going to do any harm.

Answer 2

Strange not be being an American but I would answer why should they?
The 'bomb' whilst dropped by the Americans was actually built by many people of differing nationalities in America. The original technology was not even American. Anyway they delivered what they thought was a weapon of war. The Japanese and Germans KILLED without a second thought and without mercy. The bomb was a direct act much like the Germans using conventional bombs, later rockets to target London (the Blitz) an act they have not (to the best of my knowledge apologised for). In memory (may be wrong)when the allies bombed Germany almost to surrender then they got bad press later for destroying the history of Germany.
The slaughter of many Jews, Chinese (people tend to forget or even not know that millions of Chinese were slaughtered by the Japanese) and people of all Nations considered enemies was and remains an act against humanity.
If it had not been for British forces in conjunction with Scandinavian freedom fighters the Germans WOULD HAVE bombed Britain with their version, no question about it.

Answer 3

I think the question should be, Will Japan ever thank us for dropping those bombs? What most people do not realize is that the fire bombing raids made over Tokyo killed more than both bombs combined. If the US would have invaded the home islands, it is very likely that Japanese culture would have never survived, they would have fought to the last citizen. You would be talking about losses in the millions on both sides. Those bombs saved more lives than any other weapons created by man. This is a very good article about the incident and basically talks about that most people against the bomb do not come from a class of those that are infantrymen.

Answer 4

Japan never apologized for Pearl Harbor. It is regretable that the US HAD to use the atomic bombs, but again, it saved over a million casualties on both sides if an invasion of Japan would have been necessary to end the war. Gen. MacArthur said that President Truman made the right call because of the fact that the Japanese were fanatical in the defense of Emperor Hirohito. They and US troops would have lost upwards to a million. Also the Soviets would have invaded Japan from the north and most likely would have split that nation in to two divisions, much like Vietnam, Germany and Korea, with a communist north.

Answer 5

I think the best apology that could be made was fully and entirely helping to rebuild Japan into the great country it is now.
I'm not certain though that an apology is in order though, what so many historical fans forget is that the battle for Okinawa cost tens of thousands of Japanese and American lives. Everyone on the island fought to the death. Had America had to put boots on mainland Japan, do you think the fighting would have been any less ferocious? Does someone apologize for killing hundreds of thousands and ending the war immediately as opposed to killing MILLIONS and having the war last years and years on?

(By the way: one of the neat consolations about winning a war is that you get to bring the vanquished to court and make them apologize and punish them.)

Answer 6

You make it appear that they have something to apologise for. They estimated that another million people would have died if they hadn't dropped the bomb. All this apologising is very silly and girlish. Anyway, apologising is a personal act carried out by one person to another. National Governments don't operate on the personal level, so it is completely inappropriate for them to be apologising, and an insult to past generations who acted under the very greatest of pressure in the interests of THEIR citizens as they saw fit at the time. I think that you are probably a left wing anti-American agitator. Sorry, but that is the way you come across.

Put your suggestion to the Chinese or Japanese prisoners of war, but do it from a safe distance.

Answer 7

WWII was a big war. Bigger than many of us young bucks have ever seen, or may ever see. The U.S. was stretched thin back then. Americans might be speaking Japanese, or German if we hadn't done what we did. Is America sorry that they had to kill people to keeps its citizens free? Those bombs ended the fight with Japan, who could have over taken U.S. soil while most of the nations men were in Europe fighting already.

Answer 8

We never did, we never will and we never should. It was the right thing to do. It ended the war. The idea of invading Japan or blockading it and bombing 24 hours a day was not an option. We had the weapon, we used it, the war ended.

As to your comments about Japan "coming around". Baloney. The Japanese have denied all their crimes from comfort women to murdering 400,000 Chinese in Nanjing to starvation of POWs to the slaughter of Filipinos, Indonesians, Koreans, and everywhere else they conquered.

The bombs ended the war and (NOTE THIS:) brought democracy, freedom and peace to Japan.
It was a terrible price but it had to be paid.

Answer 9

I doubt the US will apologise. They see the Japanese as the aggressor, because they bombed Pearl Harbour.

They also justify the atom bomb by saying millions would have died on both sides if they had tried to invade Japan to stop the war.

I think more people in the World feel it should be the Japanese who aplogise.

Answer 10

Dropping bombs are a part of warfare. The US simply had the biggest bombs at the time.

I don't think the atrocities committed by Germany and Japan, are comparable to the dropping of the Atomic bomb.

The effects were devestating and long lasting, but as far as the rules of engagement at the time go, it was well within reason.