There was a continuous war between the United States of America and Japan that had lasted for more than four years. Americans were getting tired of the current war-state. The U.S. called on Japan to an unconditional surrender, but the latter would not concede but instead bowed to continue with the war. At this time, America had lost over 418,000 people, both civilians, and military (Zuberi, 2001). Their reserves of power were also running out while the public was demanding that the servicemen who had been at warships for a long time be allowed to go back home.
Additionally, America felt that invading Japan another time was a very costly affair and they were bound to lose more lives, it was estimated that another 130,000 to 220,000 Americans would have died as a result of this invasion. The then President of the U.S. ordered the use of atomic bombs that were used on Hiroshima, killing over 70,000 thousand Japanese citizens and over 100,000 other than died over time as a result of burns, cancers and radiation sicknesses (Edwards, 2018). Three days another bomb attached Nagasaki, and this forced Japan to surrender to its allies.
At the moment, the Japanese defense was war low. This is because they had inadequate aircraft and anti-aircraft guns. They were also experiencing fuel shortages, and the army was not very well trained to handle aircraft wars. Japan was also experiencing a shortage of raw materials, their fishing industry had also been affected by the loss of shipping, and the harvest for rice went very low that year. This translated to malnutrition and hunger to its citizens. This means that Japan was vulnerable and not such a dangerous enemy for the U.S. (Yuko et al., 2008).
The Japanese had totally refused to concede and had vowed to fight to the bitter end. They had a strong resolved such that their pilots would suicide dive as they attached the U.S. troops.
I do believe the use of the atomic bomb on Japan was a positive action. First, no war, whether atomic or otherwise, is good or human. This, therefore, means that the continuation of the war was already not a good thing and needed to be stopped. Calling of an unconditional surrender on Japan was not heeded to, and that forced Americans to forcefully cause the cessation of war.
Secondly, I believe this was the most efficient and short way of ending the war. Since the use of diplomacy was not working, the easiest way possible to have ended the way is by sending a very strong and effective message to the Japanese military. This did not only save the American army and civilians; I believe there were more Japanese that would have died in the war than those killed by the atomic bombs, for example, the 125,000 Japanese that were killed during the Tokyo raid.
It is said that Japan was already weak and vulnerable. This might be from the fact that they were losing the battle against their allies but, the fact that they were still fighting shows that their spirits were still high and willing to continue on with the fights. Many of the Japanese were always given the picture that they were winning, and this would, therefore, mean that the war could have continued for months, maybe years. The Japanese were not only unwilling to surrender od American terms but were also planning and determined to put up a very strong resistance to U.S. invasion (Hoyt, 2000). This further shows that the effects of the invasion would be far-reaching, and the war could have continued for many months. A stern warning/ message needed to be sent in a strong way. There was a need to stop the war once and for all, and this could only be achieved by using means stronger than what had been used before.
In conclusion, though the use of an atomic bomb was lethal and left many dead, it seems that it was the only option left for the American troops at the moment. It is the only way that could have brought an end to the four-year war between the U.S. and Japanese troops.
References
Edwards, M. (2018). The atomic bomb in Japanese cinema: Critical essays. McFarland.
Hoyt, E. P. (2000). Inferno: The fire-bombing of Japan, March 9 – August 15, 1945. Madison Books.
Yuko, M., Sachie, N., Kayo, S., Yoshiko, O., Keiko, T., Yukiko, H., … & Kazumi, M. (2008). Individual testimonies to nursing care after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945. International nursing review, 55(1), 13-19.
Zuberi, M. (2001). Atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Strategic Analysis, 25(5), 623-662.