While maintaining a sufficient level of diplomatic engagement with the Japanese to give them the impression they might be willing to mediate, the Soviets were covertly preparing to attack Japanese forces in Manchuria and Korea (in addition to South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands) in fulfillment of promises they had secretly made to the United States and the United Kingdom at the Tehran and Yalta Conferences. On August 6, 1945, at 8:15 AM local time, the United States detonated an atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Sixteen hours later, American President Harry S. Truman called again for Japan's surrender, warning them to "expect a rain of ruin from the air, the like of which has never been seen on this earth." Late in the evening of August 8, 1945, in accordance with the Yalta agreements, but in violation of the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan, and soon after midnight on August 9, 1945, the Soviet Union invaded the Imperial Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo.
Introduction
Surrender of Japan
Surrender of Japan | Introduction
United States detonated an atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The United States detonated an atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. On August 6, 1945, at 8:15 AM local time, the United States detonated an atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. On August 6 at 8:15 AM local time, the "Enola Gay", a Boeing B-29 Superfortress piloted by Colonel Paul Tibbets, dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima in southwest Honshū.
date of japanese surrender in world war ii
user
September 2, 1945
assistant
what were the divisions within their leadership?
user
Suzuki's military-dominated cabinet favored continuing the war. For the Japanese, surrender was unthinkable—Japan had never been successfully invaded or lost a war in its history. Only Mitsumasa Yonai, the Navy minister, was known to desire an early end to the war.
assistant
why did they surrender then?
user
August 28, 1945 Japanese Instrument of Surrender was signed
assistant
what happened at hiroshima in this context?
user
One of his uncles, Prince Asaka, then asked whether the war would be continued if the "kokutai" could not be preserved. Hirohito simply replied, "Of course." As the Allied terms seemed to leave intact the principle of the preservation of the Throne, Hirohito recorded on August 14 his capitulation announcement which was broadcast to the Japanese nation the next day despite a short rebellion by militarists opposed to the surrender.
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki | Surrender of Japan and subsequent occupation
Therefore, many Japanese and in particular the military members of the government refused to believe the United States had built an atomic bomb, and the Japanese military ordered their own independent tests to determine the cause of Hiroshima's destruction. Admiral Soemu Toyoda, the Chief of the Naval General Staff, argued that even if the United States had made one, they could not have many more. American strategists, having anticipated a reaction like Toyoda's, planned to drop a second bomb shortly after the first, to convince the Japanese that the U.S. had a large supply.
Surrender of Japan | August 6: Hiroshima
Until August 9, Japan's war council still insisted on its four conditions for surrender. The full cabinet met on 14:30 on August 9, and spent most of the day debating surrender. Anami conceded that victory was unlikely, but argued in favour of continuing the war nonetheless. The meeting ended at 17:30, with no decision having been reached. Suzuki went to the palace to report on the outcome of meeting, where he met with Kōichi Kido, the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal of Japan. Kido informed him that the emperor had agreed to hold an imperial conference, and gave a strong indication that the emperor would consent to surrender on condition that "kokutai" be preserved.
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki | Surrender of Japan and subsequent occupation
This ultimatum stated if Japan did not surrender, it would face "prompt and utter destruction". Some debaters focus on the presidential decision-making process, and others on whether or not the bombings were the proximate cause of Japanese surrender. Over the course of time, different arguments have gained and lost support as new evidence has become available and as new studies have been completed. A primary and continuing focus has been on the role of the bombings in Japan's surrender and the U.S.'s justification for them based upon the premise that the bombings precipitated the surrender. This remains the subject of both scholarly and popular debate.
Debate over the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki | Introduction
On August 6 at 8:15 AM local time, the "Enola Gay", a Boeing B-29 Superfortress piloted by Colonel Paul Tibbets, dropped an atomic bomb (code-named Little Boy by the U.S.) on the city of Hiroshima in southwest Honshū. Throughout the day, confused reports reached Tokyo that Hiroshima had been the target of an air raid, which had leveled the city with a "blinding flash and violent blast". Later that day, they received U.S. President Truman's broadcast announcing the first use of an atomic bomb, and promising: The Japanese Army and Navy had their own independent atomic-bomb programs and therefore the Japanese understood enough to know how very difficult building it would be.
Surrender of Japan | August 6: Hiroshima
Japan could legally enter into a peace agreement only with the unanimous support of the Japanese cabinet, and in the summer of 1945, the Japanese Supreme War Council, consisting of representatives of the Army, the Navy, and the civilian government, could not reach a consensus on how to proceed.
Debate over the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki | Japan's leaders refused to surrender
Strategic Air Forces in the Pacific, that the B-29s were not flying on August 11 (because of bad weather) as a statement that a ceasefire was in effect. To avoid giving the Japanese the impression that the Allies had abandoned peace efforts and resumed bombing, Truman then ordered a halt to all further bombings. The Japanese cabinet considered the Allied response, and Suzuki argued that they must reject it and insist on an explicit guarantee for the imperial system. Anami returned to his position that there be no occupation of Japan. Afterward, Tōgō told Suzuki that there was no hope of getting better terms, and Kido conveyed the Emperor's will that Japan surrender.
Surrender of Japan | August 12
Truman felt that the effects of Japan witnessing a failed test would be too great of a risk to arrange such a demonstration. It emerged after the war that, had Japan not surrendered in August 1945, it was planning to attack the United States with biological weapons in September.
Debate over the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki | Other
The 1946 United States Strategic Bombing Survey in Japan, whose members included Paul Nitze, concluded the atomic bombs had been unnecessary to win the war. They said: This conclusion assumed conventional fire bombing would have continued, with ever-increasing numbers of B-29s, and a greater level of destruction to Japan's cities and population. One of Nitze's most influential sources was Prince Fumimaro Konoe, who responded to a question asking whether Japan would have surrendered if the atomic bombs had not been dropped by saying resistance would have continued through November or December 1945.
Debate over the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki | Militarily unnecessary
In 1945 he was a student of the Hiroshima Vocational School in Senda-machi. On the morning of August 6 he had just eaten breakfast at a dining hall named "Shima no Kaori" and was invited to have a second breakfast with some other students. He declined as he was concerned that the young woman behind the counter would think him a glutton. When the bomb exploded soon afterwards he was walking to school and he was badly burned. Everyone in the dining room was killed. () The school was abandoned and catching fire, so he went to an aunt's house nearby.
Sunao Tsuboi | Atomic bombing of Hiroshima
The complete silence from that city puzzled the General Staff; they knew that no large enemy raid had occurred and that no sizable store of explosives was in Hiroshima at that time. A young officer was instructed to fly immediately to Hiroshima, to land, survey the damage, and return to Tokyo with reliable information for the staff. It was felt that nothing serious had taken place and that the explosion was just a rumor. The staff officer went to the airport and took off for the southwest. After flying for about three hours, while still nearly from Hiroshima, he and his pilot saw a great cloud of smoke from the bomb.
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki | Japanese realization of the bombing
The Emperor then requested Tōgō to communicate his wishes to the Prime Minister.
Debate over the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki | Nagasaki bombing unnecessary
"Its story became a part of our ceaseless thinking about world wars and nuclear holocaust," "New Yorker" essayist Roger Angell wrote in 1995.
Hiroshima (book) | Introduction
A second cabinet meeting was held at 18:00. Only four ministers supported Anami's position of adhering to the four conditions, but since cabinet decisions had to be unanimous, no decision was reached before it ended at 22:00. Calling an imperial conference required the signatures of the prime minister and the two service chiefs, but the Chief Cabinet Secretary Hisatsune Sakomizu had already obtained signatures from Toyoda and General Yoshijirō Umezu in advance, and he reneged on his promise to inform them if a meeting was to be held. The meeting commenced at 23:50. No consensus had emerged by 02:00 on August 10, but the emperor gave his "sacred decision", authorizing the Foreign Minister, Shigenori Tōgō, to notify the Allies that Japan would accept their terms on one condition, that the declaration "does not comprise any demand which prejudices the prerogatives of His Majesty as a Sovereign ruler." On August 12, the Emperor informed the imperial family of his decision to surrender.
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki | Surrender of Japan and subsequent occupation
The debate over the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki concerns the ethical, legal, and military controversies surrounding the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 August and 9 August 1945 at the close of World War II (1939–45). The Soviet Union declared war on Japan an hour before 9 August and invaded Manchuria at one minute past midnight; Japan surrendered on 15 August. On 26 July 1945, United States President Harry S. Truman, United Kingdom Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Chairman of the Chinese Nationalist Government Chiang Kai-shek issued the Potsdam Declaration, which outlined the terms of surrender for the Empire of Japan as agreed upon at the Potsdam Conference.
Debate over the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki | Introduction
on August 6, 1945. Most of the city was destroyed, and by the end of the year 90,000–166,000 had died as a result of the blast and its effects. The Hiroshima Peace Memorial (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) serves as a memorial of the bombing. Since being rebuilt after the war, Hiroshima has become the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan.
Hiroshima | Introduction
Instead, the ambient wind at the time pushed the fire spread along the valley.
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki | Events on the ground
These two bombs killed approximately 120,000 people in a matter of minutes, and as many as a result of nuclear radiation in the following weeks, months and years. The bombs killed as many as 140,000 people in Hiroshima and 80,000 in Nagasaki by the end of 1945. At the Yalta agreement, the US, the UK, and the USSR had agreed that the USSR would enter the war on Japan within three months of the defeat of Germany in Europe. This Soviet–Japanese War led to the fall of Japan's Manchurian occupation, Soviet occupation of South Sakhalin island, and a real, imminent threat of Soviet invasion of the home islands of Japan.
Empire of Japan | Surrender
With the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Soviet invasion of Manchuria, and an invasion of the home islands imminent, Japan surrendered.
Military history of the United States during World War II | Introduction
For months afterward, large numbers of people continued to die from the effects of burns, radiation sickness, and injuries, compounded by illness and malnutrition. Most of the dead were civilians, although Hiroshima had a sizable military garrison.
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki | Introduction
The statement was taken by both Japanese and foreign papers as a clear rejection of the declaration. Emperor Hirohito, who was waiting for a Soviet reply to non-committal Japanese peace feelers, made no move to change the government position. Japan's willingness to surrender remained conditional on the preservation of the "kokutai" (Imperial institution and national polity), assumption by the Imperial Headquarters of responsibility for disarmament and demobilization, no occupation of the Japanese Home Islands, Korea or Formosa, and delegation of the punishment of war criminals to the Japanese government. At Potsdam, Truman agreed to a request from Winston Churchill that Britain be represented when the atomic bomb was dropped.
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki | Potsdam Declaration
"This article incorporates information from the Japanese Wikipedia."
Timeline of Hiroshima | References
With the text of this leaflet reading in Japanese "...we cannot promise that only these cities will be among those attacked..." Hiroshima was not listed.
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki | Leaflets
The surrender ceremony was held on September 2, aboard the United States Navy battleship , at which officials from the Japanese government signed the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, thereby ending the hostilities. Allied civilians and military personnel alike celebrated V-J Day, the end of the war; however, isolated soldiers and personnel from Japan's far-flung forces throughout Asia and the Pacific refused to surrender for months and years afterwards, some even refusing into the 1970s. The role of the atomic bombings in Japan's unconditional surrender, and the ethics of the two attacks, is still debated. The state of war formally ended when the Treaty of San Francisco came into force on April 28, 1952.
Surrender of Japan | Introduction
The air attacks on Japan had crippled her ability to wage war but the Japanese had not surrendered. On July 26, 1945, United States President Harry S. Truman, United Kingdom Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Chairman of the Chinese Nationalist Government Chiang Kai-shek issued the Potsdam Declaration, which outlined the terms of surrender for the Empire of Japan as agreed upon at the Potsdam Conference. This ultimatum stated if Japan did not surrender, she would face "prompt and utter destruction." The Japanese government ignored this ultimatum ("Mokusatsu", "kill by silence"), and vowed to continue resisting an anticipated Allied invasion of Japan.
Air warfare of World War II | Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Stimson successfully tried to get "Little Boy" (the Hiroshima bomb) dropped within hours of its earliest possible availabiliy. Japan was to be forced to surrender, and the bombing of Hiroshima August 6 was likely a finishing blow for Tokyo. Stimson ultimately concluded that if the US had guaranteed the Japanese preservation of the imperial constitutional monarchy, Japan might have surrendered and prevented the use of atomic bombs.
Henry L. Stimson | Atomic bomb
Several days after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Japanese government agreed to unconditional surrender.
Shigenori Tōgō | Wartime service
With the support of most of his aides, Truman approved the schedule of the military's plans to drop atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Hiroshima was bombed on August 6, and Nagasaki three days later, leaving approximately 135,000 dead; another 130,000 would die from radiation sickness and other bomb-related illnesses in the following five years. Japan agreed to surrender on August 10, on the sole condition that Emperor Hirohito would not be forced to abdicate; after some internal debate, the Truman administration accepted these terms of surrender.
Presidency of Harry S. Truman | End of World War II
He was in shock and belatedly realized he was badly injured and didn't wish to be a burden to her, so he left. He went to the Miyuki bridge where he heard that there was an aid station. But the only assistance there was cooking oil being used to ease the pain from burns. Policemen were pouring it onto the skin of school children. He was later taken to Ujina (Hiroshima port) by a truck and then to Ninoshima by barge. Only young men were being evacuated, as they were considered valuable for the war effort. He asked a woman visiting to inform his family.
Sunao Tsuboi | Atomic bombing of Hiroshima
Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall, the closest surviving building to the location of the bomb's detonation, was designated the Genbaku Dome (原爆ドーム) or "Atomic Dome", a part of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum was opened in 1955 in the Peace Park.
Hiroshima | Postwar period (1945–present)
Kyūma's comments were similar to those made by Emperor Hirohito when, in his first ever press conference given in Tokyo in 1975, he was asked what he thought of the bombing of Hiroshima, and answered: "It's very regrettable that nuclear bombs were dropped and I feel sorry for the citizens of Hiroshima but it couldn't be helped (shikata ga nai) because that happened in wartime."
Debate over the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki | Part of total war
On August 6, 1945, the "Little Boy" enriched uranium atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Hiroshima, followed on August 9 by the detonation of the "Fat Man" plutonium core atomic bomb over Nagasaki. Both cities were destroyed with enormous loss of life and psychological shock. On August 15, Emperor Hirohito announced the surrender of Japan, stating:
Air warfare of World War II | Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
The bomb was then fully armed. Jeppson monitored the bomb's circuits. The bomb was dropped at approximately 08:15 (JST) 6 August 1945. After falling for 44.4 seconds, the time and barometric triggers started the firing mechanism. The detonation happened at an altitude of . It was less powerful than the Fat Man, which was dropped on Nagasaki, but the damage and the number of victims at Hiroshima were much higher, as Hiroshima was on flat terrain, while the hypocenter of Nagasaki lay in a small valley. According to figures published in 1945, 66,000 people were killed as a direct result of the Hiroshima blast, and 69,000 were injured to varying degrees.
Little Boy | Bombing of Hiroshima
At the time of the attack, the population was approximately 340,000–350,000. Residents wondered why Hiroshima had been spared destruction by firebombing. Some speculated that the city was to be saved for U.S. occupation headquarters, others thought perhaps their relatives in Hawaii and California had petitioned the U.S. government to avoid bombing Hiroshima. More realistic city officials had ordered buildings torn down to create long, straight firebreaks. These continued to be expanded and extended up to the morning of August 6, 1945.
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki | Hiroshima during World War II
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Hiroshima, Japan.
Timeline of Hiroshima | Introduction
After circling the city to survey the damage they landed south of the city, where the staff officer, after reporting to Tokyo, began to organize relief measures. Tokyo's first indication that the city had been destroyed by a new type of bomb came from President Truman's announcement of the strike, sixteen hours later.
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki | Japanese realization of the bombing
Part One: The Hiroshima Experience 50 Years Later Chapter 1: Memoirs of A-bomb survivors Chapter 2: Concerned Citizens' Voices
Hiroshima: In Memoriam and Today | Structure
While maintaining a sufficient level of diplomatic engagement with the Japanese to give them the impression they might be willing to mediate, the Soviets were covertly preparing to attack Japanese forces in Manchuria and Korea (in addition to South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands) in fulfillment of promises they had secretly made to the United States and the United Kingdom at the Tehran and Yalta Conferences. On August 6, 1945, at 8:15 AM local time, the United States detonated an atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Sixteen hours later, American President Harry S. Truman called again for Japan's surrender, warning them to "expect a rain of ruin from the air, the like of which has never been seen on this earth." Late in the evening of August 8, 1945, in accordance with the Yalta agreements, but in violation of the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan, and soon after midnight on August 9, 1945, the Soviet Union invaded the Imperial Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo.
Surrender of Japan | Introduction
Hirohito told Kido to "quickly control the situation" because "the Soviet Union has declared war and today began hostilities against us." The Supreme Council met at 10:30. Suzuki, who had just come from a meeting with the Emperor, said it was impossible to continue the war. Tōgō said that they could accept the terms of the Potsdam Declaration, but they needed a guarantee of the Emperor's position. Navy Minister Yonai said that they had to make some diplomatic proposal—they could no longer afford to wait for better circumstances.
Surrender of Japan | August 9: Soviet invasion and Nagasaki
"These are the bells that did not ring for weeks or months after the disaster. May there never be a time when they do not ring! May they ring out this message of peace until the morning of the day on which the world ends." Initially, the book was refused publication by the American forces occupying Japan, until an appendix was added describing Japanese atrocities in the Philippines. This appendix was later removed.
The Bells of Nagasaki | Introduction
Some historians see ancient Japanese warrior traditions as a major factor in the resistance in the Japanese military to the idea of surrender. According to one Air Force account, Japanese militarism was aggravated by the Great Depression, and had resulted in countless assassinations of reformers attempting to check military power, among them Takahashi Korekiyo, Saitō Makoto, and Inukai Tsuyoshi. This created an environment in which opposition to war was a much riskier endeavor. According to historian Richard B. Frank, The United States Department of Energy's history of the Manhattan Project lends some credence to these claims, saying that military leaders in Japan While some members of the civilian leadership did use covert diplomatic channels to attempt peace negotiation, they could not negotiate surrender or even a cease-fire.
Debate over the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki | Japan's leaders refused to surrender
Emperor Hirohito announced Japan's unconditional surrender on August 15, 1945, following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Soviet invasion of Manchuria.
History of Japan | Introduction
In the Dutch East Indies, there was a "forced mobilization of some 4 million—although some estimates are as high as 10 million—"romusha" (manual labourers) ... About 270,000 romusha were sent to the Outer Islands and Japanese-held territories in Southeast Asia, where they joined other Asians in performing wartime construction projects. At the end of the war, only 52,000 were repatriated to Java." Supporters also point to an order given by the Japanese War Ministry on August 1, 1944, ordering the execution of Allied POWs, "when an uprising of large numbers cannot be suppressed without the use of firearms" or when the POW camp was in the combat zone, in fear that "escapees from the camp may turn into a hostile fighting force".
Debate over the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki | Speedy end of war saved lives
A total of 1,014 aircraft were used with no losses. B-29s from the 315 Bombardment Wing flew to destroy the Nippon Oil Company refinery at Tsuchizaki on the northern tip of Honshū. This was the last operational refinery in the Japan Home Islands, and it produced 67% of their oil. The attacks would continue right through the announcement of the Japanese surrender, and indeed for some time afterwards. Privately Truman despaired that the Japanese government's failure to surrender meant the only escalation left to him was to order an atomic bomb dropped on the Imperial Palace, as had been repeatedly proposed by several members of the USAAF high command, killing the Emperor and his cabinet in a decapitation strike that would cripple the Japanese military's command and control but would leave no one left with the authority to order the Japanese people to accept a surrender agreement.
Surrender of Japan | August 13–14
our time to proceed with arrangements of ending the war before the enemy lands on the Japanese mainland is limited, on the other hand it is difficult to decide on concrete peace conditions here at home all at once."
Surrender of Japan | Japanese reaction
The film opens on 12 April 1945 with the death of Franklin Roosevelt and the succession of Harry Truman to the presidency. In Europe, the Germans are close to surrender, but in the Pacific the bloody battle for Okinawa is still underway and an invasion of the Japanese home islands is not foreseen until the autumn. American battle casualties have almost reached 900,000, with Japanese casualties at 1.1 million, and some 8 million Asian civilians have died in the war that began with Japan's invasion of Manchuria in 1931. The new president knows nothing about the nuclear weapons being developed at Los Alamos, and he must soon decide on whether to use them and how.
Hiroshima (film) | Synopsis
The Little Boy atomic bomb was detonated over the Japanese city of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945. Exploding with a yield equivalent to 12,500 tonnes of TNT, the blast and thermal wave of the bomb destroyed nearly 50,000 buildings (including the headquarters of the 2nd General Army and Fifth Division) and killed approximately 75,000 people, among them 20,000 Japanese soldiers and 20,000 Koreans. Detonation of the "Fat Man" atomic bomb exploded over the Japanese city of Nagasaki three days later on 9 August 1945, destroying 60% of the city and killing approximately 35,000 people, among them 23,200-28,200 Japanese civilian munitions workers and 150 Japanese soldiers.
Nuclear weapons debate | Hiroshima and Nagasaki
casualties, with U.S. dead in the range from 25,000 to 46,000. Delivered on June 15, 1945, after insight gained from the Battle of Okinawa, the study noted Japan's inadequate defenses due to the very effective sea blockade and the American firebombing campaign. The Chief of Staff of the United States Army, General of the Army George Marshall, and the Army Commander in Chief in the Pacific, General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, signed documents agreeing with the Joint War Plans Committee estimate. The Americans were alarmed by the Japanese buildup, which was accurately tracked through Ultra intelligence. Secretary of War Henry L.
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki | Preparations to invade Japan
Though the word "surrender" was not explicitly stated, Hirohito instructed his government to communicate to the Allies that the "empire accepts the provisions of their joint declaration", which amounted to an acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration. He justified Japan's decision to go to war as an act of "self-preservation and the stabilization of East Asia" and referenced the setbacks and defeats of recent years, saying "the war situation has developed not necessarily to Japan's advantage". He mentioned the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that had occurred days earlier, calling the atomic bomb a "new and most cruel bomb", but omitted the Soviet invasion of Manchuria as the final impetus for surrender.
Jewel Voice Broadcast | Content
This chapter was added forty years after the initial publication in "The New Yorker". It appeared in the July 15, 1985 issue of "The New Yorker". Hersey returned to Hiroshima to learn what has become of the six survivors. His record of what he found became chapter 5 in subsequent editions of the book. The survivors of the Hiroshima bombing are now referred to as hibakusha (explosion-affected people). The Japanese initially refused to take any responsibility for the American atomic bombing or the population affected. The victims were discriminated against, and many employers refused to hire a hibakusha because they could not work as hard.
Hiroshima (book) | "The Aftermath"
authorities, and the Japanese government did not respond to the Potsdam Declaration in late July 1945 outlining the conditions for unconditional surrender. On August 6, 1945, the first atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima without the warning that Bard recommended, inflicting approximately 70,000 deaths, including 20,000 Japanese combatants and 20,000 Korean slave laborers. On August 8, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan and launched the invasion of Manchuria which decimated the already-weakening Manchukuo Imperial Army. On August 9, a second bomb was used on the Japanese city of Nagasaki, killing approximately 35,000 people, including 27,778 Japanese munitions employees, 2,000 Korean slave laborers, and 150 Japanese combatants.
Ralph Austin Bard | Bard's memorandum to Stimson
The bomb was assembled in secret and loaded on the "Enola Gay". The bomb, code named "Little Boy", possessed a force equivalent to 15,000 tons of TNT. The plane dropped Little Boy over the city at 8:15:17 a.m. local time on 6 August 1945. Within 43 seconds of being dropped, it detonated over the city, missing its target by . Intended for the Aioi Bridge, the bomb instead exploded directly over the Shima Hospital, which was very near to the Genbaku Dome. Because the explosion was almost directly overhead, the building was able to retain its shape. The building's vertical columns were able to resist the nearly vertical downward force of the blast, and parts of the concrete and brick outer walls remained intact.
Hiroshima Peace Memorial | Atomic bombing
They were then reduced to ashes by the fires which followed. Within 2 km of the hypocenter, roughly 80% of the houses collapsed and burned. When the smoke cleared, the area was strewn with corpses.
Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum | History covered in the museum
The Japanese government ignored ("mokusatsu") this ultimatum, thus signalling that they were not going to surrender. In the wake of this rejection, Stimson and George Marshall (the Army chief of staff) and Hap Arnold (head of the Army Air Forces) set the atomic bombing in motion.
Strategic bombing during World War II | Nuclear bombings
Yoshio Nishina and other atomic physicists arrived at the city, and carefully examined the damage. They then went back to Tokyo and told the cabinet that Hiroshima was indeed destroyed by a nuclear weapon. Admiral Soemu Toyoda, the Chief of the Naval General Staff, estimated that no more than one or two additional bombs could be readied, so they decided to endure the remaining attacks, acknowledging "there would be more destruction but the war would go on". American Magic codebreakers intercepted the cabinet's messages.
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki | Events of August 7–9
With the support of most of his aides, Truman approved the schedule of the military's plans to drop atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Hiroshima was bombed on August 6, and Nagasaki three days later, leaving approximately 135,000 dead; another 130,000 would die from radiation sickness and other bomb-related illnesses in the following five years. Japan agreed to surrender on August 10, on the sole condition that Emperor Hirohito would not be forced to abdicate; after some internal debate, the Truman administration accepted these terms of surrender.
Foreign policy of the Harry S. Truman administration | End of World War II
Stimson owing to Kyoto's cultural value; the city had also been excluded from the urban firebombing raids on the same grounds. On 26 July the United States, Britain and China issued the Potsdam Declaration, which demanded Japan's surrender after warning that the country would be devastated if the war continued. The Japanese government rejected the Allied demands on 28 July. Hiroshima was attacked on 6 August. At 8:15 am local time the B-29 "Enola Gay", piloted by Tibbets, dropped the "Little Boy" atomic bomb over the center of the city. The resulting explosion killed tens of thousands of people and destroyed about of buildings.
Air raids on Japan | Atomic bombings and final attacks
The Tokyo control operator of the Japan Broadcasting Corporation noticed that the Hiroshima station had gone off the air. He tried to re-establish his program by using another telephone line, but it too had failed. About 20 minutes later the Tokyo railroad telegraph center realized that the main line telegraph had stopped working just north of Hiroshima. From some small railway stops within of the city came unofficial and confused reports of a terrible explosion in Hiroshima. All these reports were transmitted to the headquarters of the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff. Military bases repeatedly tried to call the Army Control Station in Hiroshima.
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki | Japanese realization of the bombing
The (or less literally, broadcast in the emperor's own voice) was the radio broadcast of surrender given by Japanese Emperor Hirohito (Emperor Shōwa 昭和天皇 "Shōwa-tennō") read out the . It announced to the Japanese people that the Japanese Government had accepted the Potsdam Declaration demanding the unconditional surrender of the Japanese military at the end of World War II. Following the Hiroshima bombing on August 6th and Nagasaki bombing on August 9th, the Emperor's speech was broadcast at noon Japan Standard Time on August 15, 1945, and did reference the atomic bombs as a reason for the surrender. The speech was probably the first time that an Emperor of Japan had spoken (albeit via a phonograph record) to the common people.
Jewel Voice Broadcast | Introduction
Although some Japanese soldiers were taken prisoner, most fought until they were killed or committed suicide. Nearly 99 percent of the 21,000 defenders of Iwo Jima were killed. Of the 117,000 Okinawan and Japanese troops defending Okinawa in April to June 1945, 94 percent were killed; 7,401 Japanese soldiers surrendered, an unprecedentedly large number. As the Allies advanced towards Japan, conditions became steadily worse for the Japanese people. Japan's merchant fleet declined from 5,250,000 gross tons in 1941 to 1,560,000 tons in March 1945, and 557,000 tons in August 1945. Lack of raw materials forced the Japanese war economy into a steep decline after the middle of 1944.
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki | Pacific War
The dropping of atomic weapons on two Japanese cities and the Soviet invasion of Japanese Manchuria, however, caused the Japanese government to surrender without an armed invasion being necessary.
Volcano and Ryukyu Islands campaign | Introduction
On July 26, 1945, the Potsdam Declaration served upon Japan an ultimatum to surrender or face utter annihilation. The Japanese government refused the offer. On August 6, 1945, Hiroshima, with some 300,000 inhabitants, was almost totally destroyed by an atomic bomb dropped from an American plane. Two days later, the Soviet Union declared war against Japan and invaded Manchuria. The next day, August 9, 1945, a second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. The Allied Forces' message now had a telling effect: Japan unconditionally surrendered to the Allied Powers on August 15, 1945. Since April 1945, President Laurel, together with his family and Cabinet member Camilo Osías, Speaker Benigno Aquino Sr., Gen.
Jose P. Laurel | Dissolution of the regime
Leaflet texts were prepared by recent Japanese prisoners of war because they were thought to be the best choice "to appeal to their compatriots". In preparation for dropping an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, the Oppenheimer-led Scientific Panel of the Interim Committee decided against a demonstration bomb and against a special leaflet warning. Those decisions were implemented because of the uncertainty of a successful detonation and also because of the wish to maximize shock in the leadership. No warning was given to Hiroshima that a new and much more destructive bomb was going to be dropped. Various sources gave conflicting information about when the last leaflets were dropped on Hiroshima prior to the atomic bomb.
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki | Leaflets
Truman promised a "rain of ruin" if Japan did not surrender immediately, threatening to systematically eliminate their ability to wage war. On August 15, Emperor Hirohito announced Japan's surrender.
History of nuclear weapons | Decision to drop the bomb
Replacing the pump would take hours; moving the Fat Man to another aircraft might take just as long and was dangerous as well, as the bomb was live. Tibbets and Sweeney therefore elected to have "Bockscar" continue the mission.
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki | Bombing of Nagasaki
Assistant Secretary Bard was convinced that a standard bombardment and naval blockade would be enough to force Japan into surrendering. Even more, he had seen signs for weeks that the Japanese were actually already looking for a way out of the war. His idea was for the United States to tell the Japanese about the bomb, the impending Soviet entry into the war, and the fair treatment that citizens and the Emperor would receive at the coming Big Three conference. Before the bombing occurred, Bard pleaded with Truman to neither drop the bombs (at least not without warning the population first) nor to invade the entire country, proposing to stop the bloodshed.
Debate over the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki | Militarily unnecessary
At 04:00 on August 9 word reached Tokyo that the Soviet Union had broken the Neutrality Pact, declared war on Japan, subscribed to the Potsdam Declaration and launched an invasion of Manchuria. These "twin shocks"—the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and the Soviet entry—had immediate profound effects on Prime Minister Kantarō Suzuki and Foreign Minister Shigenori Tōgō, who concurred that the government must end the war at once. However, the senior leadership of the Japanese Army took the news in stride, grossly underestimating the scale of the attack. With the support of Minister of War Anami, they started preparing to impose martial law on the nation, to stop anyone attempting to make peace.
Surrender of Japan | August 9: Soviet invasion and Nagasaki
He was away from the city of Hiroshima, and thus was spared any injuries due to the atomic attack on his city. As Japanese rule over Korea was over, all Japanese staying in Korea were required to return to Japan, and the family returned to Hiroshima in September 1945. After returning to Japan, he started studying science at the Hiroshima High School, his teacher being Prof. Tadayoshi Saika. In 1948, he graduated from that school, and then moved to Tokyo and studied German literature at Waseda University.
Takashi Hiraoka | Early life
The atomic bombings in Japan at Hiroshima on 6 August 1945 followed by that of Nagasaki on 9 August precipitated the abrupt end of the war. On 15 August 1945, Japan announced its official unconditional surrender to the Allied Powers. The POWs learned of the surrender early in the morning of 15 August, in a broadcast by Radio Chungking received by the secret radio. Pringle made one last journey through the jungle to inform his Chinese friends. The news was immediately broken to the British other ranks' compound, and quickly spread to the other compounds. Celebratory meals were prepared, with precious supplies and livestock used up.
Batu Lintang camp | End of the war for Batu Lintang
At 08:09, Tibbets started his bomb run and handed control over to his bombardier, Major Thomas Ferebee. The release at 08:15 (Hiroshima time) went as planned, and the Little Boy containing about of uranium-235 took 44.4 seconds to fall from the aircraft flying at about to a detonation height of about above the city. "Enola Gay" traveled before it felt the shock waves from the blast.
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki | Bombing of Hiroshima
Four more years passed before Japan and the Soviet Union signed the Soviet–Japanese Joint Declaration of 1956, which formally brought an end to their state of war.
Surrender of Japan | Introduction
The results of the bombing are then explained, with footage and descriptions of how various buildings were affected by the blast at different distances from ground zero. Afterwards, an interview with Father John A. Siemes, a Jesuit priest who was living at the Novitiate of the Society of Jesus in Nagatsuka, is shown to give the audience a firsthand account of the bombing. Near the end of the interview, the priest is seen reading from a prepared statement. Nagasaki is then mentioned, with the narrator pointing out how much armament and other military supplies were being produced there, as well as the fact that even civilian homes were used for war work.
The Atom Strikes! | Introduction
The United States dissociated itself from the decision.
Hiroshima Peace Memorial | UNESCO World Heritage Site
American historian Gabriel Kolko said certain discussion regarding the moral dimension of the attacks is wrong-headed, given the fundamental moral decision had already been made:
Debate over the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki | Continuation of previous behavior
He describes what he calls the "traditionalist" view, which asserts that the Japanese surrendered because the Americans dropped the atomic bombs. He goes on to summarise other points of view.
Soviet–Japanese War | Aftermath
Colonel Harry F. Cunningham, an intelligence officer of the Fifth Air Force, noted that in addition to civilians producing weapons of war in cities, the Japanese government created a large civilian militia organization in order to train millions of civilians to be armed and to resist the American invaders. In his official intelligence review on July 21, 1945, he declared that: Supporters of the bombings have emphasized the strategic significance of the targets. Hiroshima was used as headquarters of the Second General Army and Fifth Division, which commanded the defense of southern Japan with 40,000 combatants stationed in the city.
Debate over the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki | Part of total war
And as our eyes got used to recognize things, those dark moving objects happened to be human beings. It was like a procession of ghosts. I say “ghosts” because they simply did not look like human beings. Their hair was rising upwards, and they were covered with blood and dirt, and they were burned and blackened and swollen. Their skin and flesh were hanging, and parts of the bodies were missing. Some were carrying their own eyeballs. And they collapsed onto the ground. Their stomach burst open, and intestines start stretching out. [...] we learned how to step over the dead bodies, and escaped.
Setsuko Thurlow | Experience of the nuclear atomic bomb
The city was fire-bombed in World War II in early August 1945 around the same time that factory workers in Kokura suspected their city would be a target for the atomic bombs and decided to release large amounts of black smoke into the air. The resulting combined smoke clouds obscured the nearby town of Kokura, causing the planes "en route" to turn and head to their secondary target, Nagasaki, where the bomber "Bockscar" would drop the atomic weapon "Fat Man".
Yahata, Fukuoka | Introduction
The role of the bombings in Japan's surrender and the U.S.'s ethical justification for them has been the subject of scholarly and popular debate for decades. J. Samuel Walker suggests that "the controversy over the use of the bomb seems certain to continue".
Nuclear weapons debate | Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Recalling Kaiser Wilhelm II's account of his duty to bring World War I to a swift end—"everything must be put to fire and sword; men, women and children and old men must be slaughtered and not a tree or house be left standing." Pal observed:
Debate over the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki | Bombings as war crimes
On 6 August 1945, the United States detonated an atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Sixteen hours later, American President Harry S. Truman called again for Japan's surrender, warning them to "expect a rain of ruin from the air, the like of which has never been seen on this earth." 8 August 1945, the Soviet Union declared war on and on 9 August 1945, the Soviet Union invaded the Imperial Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo. Later in the day, the United States dropped a second atomic bomb, this time on the Japanese city of Nagasaki. Following these events, Emperor Hirohito intervened and ordered the Supreme Council for the Direction of the War to accept the terms the Allies had set down in the Potsdam Declaration for ending the war.
Japanese occupation of Singapore | End of the occupation
For a variety of diverse reasons, none of the initiatives was successful, the two major reasons being the Soviet Union's deception and delaying tactics and the attitudes of the "Big Six", the powerful Japanese military leaders. The Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation, along with the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, combined to break the Japanese political deadlock and force the Japanese leaders to accept the terms of surrender demanded by the Allies. In the "Sixty Years after Hiroshima" issue of "The Weekly Standard", the American historian Richard B. Frank points out that there are a number of schools of thought with varying opinions of what caused the Japanese to surrender.
Soviet–Japanese War | Aftermath
The 50,000-watt standard wave station on Saipan, the OWI radio station, broadcast a similar message to Japan every 15 minutes about Hiroshima, stating that more Japanese cities would face a similar fate in the absence of immediate acceptance of the terms of the Potsdam Declaration and emphatically urged civilians to evacuate major cities. Radio Japan, which continued to extoll victory for Japan by never surrendering, had informed the Japanese of the destruction of Hiroshima by a single bomb. Prime Minister Suzuki felt compelled to meet the Japanese press, to whom he reiterated his government's commitment to ignore the Allies' demands and fight on.
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki | Events of August 7–9
The following day, two B-32s on a reconnaissance mission over Tokyo were attacked by Japanese fighter aircraft out of Yokosuka Naval Airfield, with the pilots again acting on their own initiative, damaging one bomber. One of the bomber's crewmen was killed and two others wounded. It was the last aerial engagement of the war. The following day, as per the terms of the cease-fire agreement, the propellers were removed from all Japanese aircraft and further Allied reconnaissance flights over Japan went unchallenged.
Surrender of Japan | Beginning of occupation and the surrender ceremony
The full cabinet met on 14:30 on August 9, and spent most of the day debating surrender. As the Big Six had done, the cabinet split, with neither Tōgō's position nor Anami's attracting a majority. Anami told the other cabinet ministers that under torture a captured American P-51 Mustang fighter pilot had told his interrogators that the United States possessed a stockpile of 100 atom bombs and that Tokyo and Kyoto would be destroyed "in the next few days". In reality the United States would not have had a third bomb ready for use until around August 19, and a fourth in September.
Surrender of Japan | Imperial intervention, Allied response, and Japanese reply
On August 10, 1945, the day after the Nagasaki bombing, Yōsuke Yamahata, correspondent Higashi, and artist Yamada arrived in the city with orders to record the destruction for maximum propaganda purposes, Yamahata took scores of photographs, and on August 21, they appeared in "Mainichi Shimbun", a popular Japanese newspaper. Leslie Nakashima filed the first personal account of the scene to appear in American newspapers. A version of his August 27 UPI article appeared in "The New York Times" on August 31. Wilfred Burchett was the first western journalist to visit Hiroshima after the bombing, arriving alone by train from Tokyo on September 2.
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki | Reportage
casualties, including 380,000 dead. JWPC 369/1 (prepared June 15, 1945) which provided planning information to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, estimated an invasion of Japan would result in 40,000 U.S. dead and 150,000 wounded. Delivered on June 15, 1945, after insight gained from the Battle of Okinawa, the study noted Japan's inadequate defenses resulting from a very effective sea blockade and the Allied firebombing campaign. Generals George C. Marshall and Douglas MacArthur signed documents agreeing with the Joint War Plans Committee estimate.
Debate over the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki | Prevention of many U.S. military casualties
He was eventually granted a brief leave to visit his relatives. The train he took passed through Hiroshima city on August 6, 1945, the same day the atomic bomb was dropped.
Masatoshi Nagatomi | World War II
The aircraft arrived over the target in clear visibility at . Parsons, who was in command of the mission, armed the bomb in flight to minimize the risks during takeoff. He had witnessed four B-29s crash and burn at takeoff, and feared that a nuclear explosion would occur if a B-29 crashed with an armed Little Boy on board. His assistant, Second Lieutenant Morris R. Jeppson, removed the safety devices 30 minutes before reaching the target area. During the night of August 5–6, Japanese early warning radar detected the approach of numerous American aircraft headed for the southern part of Japan.
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki | Bombing of Hiroshima
The center of the blast occurred horizontally and vertically from the Dome. Everyone inside the building was killed instantly. The building's durability can also be attributed to its earthquake-resistant design; it has held up to earthquakes before and since the bombing.
Hiroshima Peace Memorial | Atomic bombing
Hours later, the United States dropped a second atomic bomb, this time on the Japanese city of Nagasaki. Following these events, Emperor Hirohito intervened and ordered the Supreme Council for the Direction of the War to accept the terms the Allies had set down in the Potsdam Declaration for ending the war. After several more days of behind-the-scenes negotiations and a failed "coup d'état", Emperor Hirohito gave a recorded radio address across the Empire on August 15. In the radio address, called the , he announced the surrender of Japan to the Allies. On August 28, the occupation of Japan led by the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers began.
Surrender of Japan | Introduction
The issue of August 31, 1946, arrived in subscribers' mailboxes bearing a light-hearted cover of a summer picnic in a park. There was no hint what was inside. Hersey's article began where the magazine's regular "Talk of the Town" column usually began, immediately after the theater listings. At the bottom of the page, the editors appended a short note: "TO OUR READERS. The New Yorker this week devotes its entire editorial space to an article on the almost complete obliteration of a city by one atomic bomb, and what happened to the people of that city. It does so in the conviction that few of us have yet comprehended the all but incredible destructive power of this weapon, and that everyone might well take time to consider the terrible implications of its use.
Hiroshima (book) | Publication in "The New Yorker"
After the Hiroshima bombing, Truman issued a statement announcing the use of the new weapon. He stated, "We may be grateful to Providence" that the German atomic bomb project had failed, and that the United States and its allies had "spent two billion dollars on the greatest scientific gamble in history—and won". Truman then warned Japan: "If they do not now accept our terms, they may expect a rain of ruin from the air, the like of which has never been seen on this earth. Behind this air attack will follow sea and land forces in such numbers and power as they have not yet seen and with the fighting skill of which they are already well aware." This was a widely broadcast speech picked up by Japanese news agencies.
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki | Events of August 7–9
Regardless, these efforts did not succeed in persuading the Japanese military to surrender. In mid-August 1945, the United States dropped nuclear weapons on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These atomic bombings were the first and only used against another nation in warfare. These two bombs killed approximately 120,000 to 140,000 people in a matter of minutes, and as many as a result of nuclear radiation in the following weeks, months and years. The bombs killed as many as 140,000 people in Hiroshima and 80,000 in Nagasaki by the end of 1945.
Japan during World War II | Air raids on Japan
Of those deaths, 20,000 were members of the Imperial Japanese Army. The exact measurement of the yield was problematic since the weapon had never been tested. President Harry S. Truman officially announced that the yield was . This was based on Parsons's visual assessment that the blast was greater than what he had seen at the Trinity nuclear test. Since that had been estimated at , speech writers rounded up to 20 kilotons. Further discussion was then suppressed, for fear of lessening the impact of the bomb on the Japanese. Data had been collected by Luis Alvarez, Harold Agnew, and Lawrence H.
Little Boy | Bombing of Hiroshima
The Japanese Instrument of Surrender was the written agreement that formalized the surrender of the Empire of Japan, marking the end of hostilities in World War II. It was signed by representatives from the Empire of Japan, the United States of America, the Republic of China, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the Commonwealth of Australia, the Dominion of Canada, the Provisional Government of the French Republic, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and the Dominion of New Zealand. The signing took place on the deck of in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945.
Japanese Instrument of Surrender | Introduction
The United States detonated two nuclear weapons over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945, respectively. The two bombings killed between 129,000 and 226,000 people, most of whom were civilians, and remain the only uses of nuclear weapons in armed conflict. In the final year of World War II, the Allies prepared for a costly invasion of the Japanese mainland. This undertaking was preceded by a conventional and firebombing campaign that devastated 67 Japanese cities. The war in Europe concluded when Germany surrendered on May 8, 1945, and the Allies turned their full attention to the Pacific War.
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki | Introduction
He continued to regret not keeping better track of all the cremated bodies at the hospital.
Hiroshima (book) | "The Aftermath"
Both were lies; McDilda was not involved or briefed on the Manhattan Project and simply told the Japanese what he thought they wanted to hear. One day before the bombing of Nagasaki, the Emperor notified Foreign Minister Shigenori Tōgō of his desire to "insure a prompt ending of hostilities". Tōgō wrote in his memoir that the Emperor "warned [him] that since we could no longer continue the struggle, now that a weapon of this devastating power was used against us, we should not let slip the opportunity [to end the war] by engaging in attempts to gain more favorable conditions".
Debate over the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki | Nagasaki bombing unnecessary
Hiroshima was subsequently struck by Typhoon Ida on September 17, 1945. More than half the bridges were destroyed, and the roads and railroads were damaged, further devastating the city. The population increased from 83,000 soon after the bombing to 146,000 in February 1946. The city was rebuilt after the war, with help from the national government through the Hiroshima Peace Memorial City Construction Law passed in 1949. It provided financial assistance for reconstruction, along with land donated that was previously owned by the national government and used for military purposes. In 1949, a design was selected for the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki | Hiroshima