The Personal Website of Mark W. Dawson

The Morality of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki Atomic Bombings

As we remember the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki of August 6th and 9th, 1945, we must ponder on the morality of these bombings. But as we ponder, we must do so in its historical context. Historic Imperial Japan (and I utilize Imperial Japan to differentiate between it between modern Democratic Japan) was an aggressor nation. It utilized its military might to subjugate other peoples for its own political and economic gains. This subjugation often occurred with the gross violation of the human rights of the peoples so subjugated.

We must also remember the Battle of Okinawa, an 82-day battle that lasted from April 1 until June 22, 1945, and that was one of the bloodiest battles in the Pacific. It cost a terrible price of lives, limbs, and destruction, with approximately 190,000 casualties on both sides: at least 75,000 Allied (of whom over 12,500 were killed or missing) and 117,000 Japanese (with estimates that 110,071 Japanese soldiers were killed during the battle), including drafted Okinawans wearing Japanese uniforms. In addition, 149,425 Okinawans were killed, committed suicide, or went missing, a significant proportion of the estimated pre-war 300,000 local population.

The Battle of Okinawa forced the Allied commanders to reconsider the estimated casualties of an invasion of Japan, the planning of such operations that were underway. They had to revise their estimates to upward of one million Allied casualties, and three to four million Japanese casualties, of which one-quarter of the casualties for both sides would be killed or missing. They also estimated the end of the War in the Pacific would last until the middle of 1947, as Japan is a series of islands that would have to have been conquered individually. Also, given that the Japanese had never surrendered in any battle of the Pacific, they did not expect a surrender, only the conquering of the Japanese people.

Given these terrible estimates, President Truman was faced with a moral dilemma. Should he utilize the newly developed atomic bombs to force an end to the war, or should he forgo their utilization for a traditional invasion? It was estimated that approximately 250,000 Japanese would be killed as a result of the atomic bombing, but that Allied casualties would be minimal if they used the atomic bombs. In war, you are often faced with deciding on the lesser of two evils. Given that Imperial Japan was the aggressor nation and the violator of human rights, the lesser evil was to utilize the atomic bombs. There was much discussion amongst the American leaders if it were possible to convince the Japanese leaders to surrender without using the atomic bombs. It was decided that this possibility was nil given the Japanese character and the inability to demonstrate the destructive power of the atomic bomb to the Japanese leadership, both military and civilian. Therefore, the decision was to utilize the atomic bombs to facilitate the quick end to the War in the Pacific.

Even after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Japanese military was reluctant to surrender. It took the intervention of Emperor Hirohito to bring about surrender. As he said, “We must think the unthinkable, and bear the unbearable” and surrender to the Allied forces. Thus, a quick end to the War in the Pacific was the result of atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the estimates of the casualties of an invasion of Japan were avoided. Sacrificing 250,000 Japanese lives to save over 3,000,000 Allied and Japanese casualties was the proper moral choice.

As a result of the surrender of Imperial Japan, and the implementation of a Democratic Japan, the Japanese people are a more prosperous and peaceful nation than they could have been under Imperial Japan. This, and the saving of over three million casualties, was the moral good of utilizing the atomic bombs on Japan. They, and the world, should be thankful that the atomic bombs quickly ended Imperial Japan and brought forth Democratic Japan.

addendum - An article by Dennis Prager, "Some on the Right Are Having a Moral Meltdown", goes into more detail of the morality of dropping the atomic bombs on Japan.