Why are some Japanese angry about the nuclear attacks on them by the U.S. when they started the war?

Answer 1

Being on the receiving end of a nuclear strike probably leaves a nasty taste in the mouth of the strikee, no matter how richly the strike was earned.

Japanese who didn't suffer at the hands of the Japanese military aren't in the best position to appreciate how other nations who did suffer at their hands felt about it at the time.

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Jalasian:

Whatever alternatives Harry Truman had, he exercised the one he thought most suited the interests of his country. More US lives saved, fewer lost.

If Japan was, indeed exploring surrender options, they didn't come to a decision in time to prevent what happened.

They'd had several years to decide. They waited a few days too long.

Whatever provoked Japan to rape China, Manchuria, the Phillipines, Malaya, they didn't have to do it and they could have ceased doing it at any point along the way.

I've had acquaintances during my life who have never forgiven Harry Truman for failing to drop the other bombs we had during that brief interval between the Nagasaki burst and the surrender.

One of those was US prisoner in Japan who survived the Bataan Death march and watched many of his fellow prisoners beheaded after Hiroshima.

One perspective might suggest Harry Truman showed a lot of restraint.

Does anyone in the world doubt that, if the Japanese had owned a single atomic bomb, or dozens of them at any point prior to surrender, they'd have made sure they killed as many enemies as possible? Even if they knew they'd be surrendering in a few days?

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Probably a better solution than the atomic bomb would have been to arm, equip, and transport every male Korean, Chinese, Filipino, Indo-Chinese, Malayan who wished to participate to perform the invasion of Japan, while the US fleet sailed home.

There'd sure as hell be nobody whining about US excesses and atomic bombs or haggling over, "Golly, we WANTED to surrender but you wouldn't let us!"

The USS Indianapolis was torpedoed AFTER Hiroshima.

Answer 2

One more post to correct some missing or factually incorrect information. The war in Asia was started by the Japanese, who needed raw material, especially oil, to continue their industrial and economic growth. How FDR goaded the Japanese into war was actually a simple embargo of raw goods -- especially iron and oil. Without attacking the US mainland, attacking Pearl Harbor was a fools mission since the Japanese military leaders knew they would awaken a sleeping giant. While FDR was fully aware of the consequences and probably knew the time and place of the Japanese attack, he could have used a number of other reasons to join the war.

As far as the nuclear attacks on the Japanese mainland go, you are correct about the fire bombing. Most cities were pretty much totally destroyed with the exception of Kyoto and the two that were nuked. You've got your mortality numbers wrong. One million was the number of predicted US servicemen who would die. There would have probably have been 3 to 5 times that in Japanese deaths had the bombs not been dropped. Many of those would have been civilians.

And, Truman did not ignore the surrender offer prior to the dropping of the first bomb. His administration quietly declined because the Japanese wanted surrender terms. The US wanted an unconditional surrender. They didn't get it after the first bomb was dropped so they dropped the second putting the fear of God into the rest of the world, as you correctly say.

Answer 3

Well, I don't know if anger is the right term. You have to remember those were NUCLEAR bombs. No other country or time has used nuclear warfare.

No other country (the US) has killed as many in ONE DAY. Approx 210,000 died that morning, and more died later.

Japan was an aggressor in World War II. They did not start the war. It was a global war, that was the result of unresolved issues from The Great War and Hitler.

The Pacific theater was the last bit of the war. It was estimated that close to a million lives were at stake. The nuclear bomb was largely untested. It proved to scare the pants off the world, not just the Japanese.

The legacy of the nuclear bomb is the issue, not who started what.

What you are referring to is the attack on Pearl Harbor which brought the US into the War. The War had been going on for several years before the US became involved.

So, think of it as a this: It's a national tragedy in Japan. All people feel patriotic about their own country. Many people remember relatives, and feel loss for them. That's all.

Answer 4

Why are some angry?

There is no way to make everyone happy....isn't that only natural?


My answer is who really cares anyway....it was a long time ago and each party to war did what it thought best!

When I was in Japan, I asked a very well-educated woman, whose grandfather had been a member of the Japanese Diet (government) what the Japanese generally thought about the war. Her comment is that they really want to forget about it because it was such an awful time.



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Answer 5

As time fades the memories and feelings it also twists and distorts, fades and compounds what actually happened. Fact: the US did drop two atomic bombs on Japan.
But, I bet if you ask a person who fought on Okinawa they'd were probably glad they didn't have to invade Japan. Okinawa was a horrendous killing field. Add in the fact that the Japanese were training women and children to defend the homeland and it makes for a nightmare for Allied troops. An invasion would've been worse the Iraq, and the scars would've been felt for decades.

Japan is actually better off today probably because of the dropping of the bombs than if the Allies had invaded Japan.

Answer 6

First of all, most of the previous answers are totally false. The truth is that Japan was goaded into bombing Pearl Harbor because Franklin Roosevelt needed an excuse to get America into the war. Trade sanctions were imposed on Japan and other actions taken against them by the American government to deliberately provoke the Japanese to attack us so Roosevelt and his allies could have the support of the American people to go to war. Prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor, the American public wanted no part of the war in Europe.
The attack on Pearl Harbor was NO surprise to the American government--Roosevelt and others knew about it and helped plan it.
As for the nuclear bombing of Japan, one fact that was brought out WAS correct, in that the United States was the FIRST and only country to use atomic weapons. In actuality, Japan had been FIREBOMBED extensively PRIOR to dropping the atomic bombs, and the firebombing caused MORE destruction and death than the atomic bombs. Due to the heavy losses from the firebombings, the Japanese government in fact capitulated and sent word that they were ready to surrender to the American government, but this message was IGNORED by President Truman and his advisors. THERE WAS NO NEED TO DROP THE ATOMIC BOMBS TO MAKE JAPAN SURRENDER; as they had already agreed to do that. The real reason that the atomic bombs were dropped on Japan was to show Russia that America HAD atomic weapons and WOULD USE them. It was a veiled threat to Russia. Furthermore, the bombs were dropped on CIVILIAN areas, NOT military targets in Japan.

Answer 7

I'm from the UK my father was a chindit who was behind there lines in Burma in WWII , supplied from the air by the American Air Force they took the he fight to them, My father was a quite, calm man, but hated the Japanese with a Passion I will never comprehend(I hope) as ye reap so thee ye sow. Time to move on to a better place, don't you think.

Answer 8

If a member of your family was killed in a war it is only right an natural that you should hate the adversary of your country. There were also other options available at the time that were presented to Harry S. Truman but he refused to implement any of them.....such as a demonstration bomb. And last, the Japanese were already looking for an honorable way to surrender because they knew their fate was sealed. I don't blame them at all in view of the circumstances.

Answer 9

Why does Santa only come once a year? One of them things that nobody will understand? Probably because they are still paying now with high cancer rates etc but as they say don't start something that you can't finish!

Answer 10

did you mean Japanese civilians?
as far i know they did not start attacks