Gyokusai Was NOT Necessary To End World War II
Atomic Atrocity
On July 7, 1937, Japan invaded China, opening the pacific theater. Four years later, Japan bombs Pearl Harbor, bring the United States into World War II. The stalwart Axis powers would present major opposition to the Allied Powers. After the fall of Nazi Germany, the Japanese were still standing. Island hopping through the Pacific, the U.S. overtook Okinawa in May of 1945. Weighting the possibility of a land invasion, the U.S. decided to drop atomic weapons on Hiroshima three months later, and once more on Nagasaki – just three days later. Although the Japanese militaristic government had armed civilians with weaponry and ideology, the use of atomic weapons was not necessary to end WWII as the Japanese military was obliterated, the Japanese were low on supplies, and the Japanese were attempting to form peace agreements.
The Japanese government mobilized the entire population. At one point, there “…was a demand that the entire Japanese population be prepared to die” (Sato 2). The population of Japan was ordered to follow Gyokusai. The term Gyokusai means shattering like a jewel. Gyokusai glorified dying for one’s country. Gyokusai was a standard that every Japan’s citizen would have to meet. With Gyokusai in heart and weapons in handing, fighting the Japanese populous via land invasion would be …show more content…
Japanese military forces had been obliterated. The United States had complete air superiority; Japan had lost all surrounding air bases established on several islands throughout the Pacific. “Japan's air force had been all but totally destroyed.” (Weber 1) There were so few military targets remaining that Atomic weapons ended up doing more damage to nonmilitary than to military targets. With low supplies and no real air force, the war’s tempo slowed. Yet, the United States, unnecessarily, decided to go out with not one but two bangs – Hiroshima and
On July 7, 1937, Japan invaded China, opening the pacific theater. Four years later, Japan bombs Pearl Harbor, bring the United States into World War II. The stalwart Axis powers would present major opposition to the Allied Powers. After the fall of Nazi Germany, the Japanese were still standing. Island hopping through the Pacific, the U.S. overtook Okinawa in May of 1945. Weighting the possibility of a land invasion, the U.S. decided to drop atomic weapons on Hiroshima three months later, and once more on Nagasaki – just three days later. Although the Japanese militaristic government had armed civilians with weaponry and ideology, the use of atomic weapons was not necessary to end WWII as the Japanese military was obliterated, the Japanese were low on supplies, and the Japanese were attempting to form peace agreements.
The Japanese government mobilized the entire population. At one point, there “…was a demand that the entire Japanese population be prepared to die” (Sato 2). The population of Japan was ordered to follow Gyokusai. The term Gyokusai means shattering like a jewel. Gyokusai glorified dying for one’s country. Gyokusai was a standard that every Japan’s citizen would have to meet. With Gyokusai in heart and weapons in handing, fighting the Japanese populous via land invasion would be …show more content…
Japanese military forces had been obliterated. The United States had complete air superiority; Japan had lost all surrounding air bases established on several islands throughout the Pacific. “Japan's air force had been all but totally destroyed.” (Weber 1) There were so few military targets remaining that Atomic weapons ended up doing more damage to nonmilitary than to military targets. With low supplies and no real air force, the war’s tempo slowed. Yet, the United States, unnecessarily, decided to go out with not one but two bangs – Hiroshima and