this post was submitted on 13 Jun 2025
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[–] napkin2020@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

What led to the rather tragic decision was the fact that the Japanese did not consider surrendering. Japanese high-ups used their elite pilots like one-off missiles rather than to surrender, and hoped that 100 million Japanese people would 'shatter like a jewel'(一億玉砕), rather than, you know, be alive.

Landing option the US had, Operation Downfall, also included bombing the coastal defense with nuclear bombs and literally obliterating Japan as a whole, so I'm not sure if that would have caused fewer casualties, not to mention it would have been a painstakingly long fight, ultimately leading to more painful exploitation for the victims like Korea and Southeast Asia. Even after the first bomb was dropped, they did not consider surrendering.

I am not saying that the bomb was the only way the war could have ended(although that was something I implied jokingly), and I'm not ignoring the fact that countless civilians died from it. But I don't think any other options would have had fewer casualties, especially from the viewpoint of one of their many colonies that was brutally exploited and suffered.