World War II and the Atomic Bombings
As World War II was drawing to a close, the US released two nuclear weapons upon the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These bombings took place on August 6 and 9, 1945 respectively. It happened right after the states obtained the consent of the United Kingdom which was a requirement by the Quebec agreement. The bombs resulted to the deaths of approximately 226,000 people, majority of whom were civilians and in the following five months. The children flesh – who attended Honkawa elementary school- did not hold up within the concrete walls of the school. Nothing was left, absolutely nothing. No remnants of their parents to bury. No single human being who was within a 1.2-kilometer radius of the hypocenter survived within a few seconds of the 8:15 a.m. bombing. (Asada, 1988, 2007)
Why bomb Japan?
In his article, "Japan's Delayed Surrender," Herbert P. Bix's 1995 focused on Emperor Hirohito's conditions to delay Japan's surrender during the month’s preceding japans bombing. On the contrary, the emperor said that it was a "sacred decision" to delay the surrender in which the states took advantage of the divided government. Lawrence Freedman and Saki Dock rill (1994), proclaims that the States followed "a clear and coherent strategy of shock," which was a success. President Harry S. Truman had been issued with a warning by some of his advisers. They told him that any attempt to attack Japan would result in American casualties. But all advice fell into deaf ears as he later gave the order to allow the new weapon to be used on Japan. An American bomber, Enola Gay, was instructed to drop the bomb over Hiroshima. In just 72 hours later, the states dropped another bomb Nagasaki, and these actions prompted Japan to announce its surrender.
The Main Aim of the Bombings
In recent years since the inhuman massacre of the Japanese, some Japanese and other historians suggested that the main aim of the weapon was based on two primary objectives. One of the two was to bring the Japanese war with other nations to an offensive end and consequently additional American lives. Secondly, it was to demonstrate the new weapon's power to the Soviet Union. By August 1945, relations between the Soviet Union and the United States had poorly deteriorated hence the weapon would have proved its worth. The havoc bestowed upon Hiroshima was not enough to convince the Japanese War Council to accept defeat and call for an unconditional surrender. The States had already planned to deliver another blow by a bomber, nicknamed "Fat Man," on August 11. However, the meteorologists said that there was bad weather expected for that day and hence the states pushed the date to August 9th. Nagasaki was bombed at 11.02 pm, and the Japanese government had no alternative other than to surrender. (Asada, 1988, 2007)
The Choice of Hiroshima
The main reason why Hiroshima was targeted and not any other city was because it had not been previously targeted by the United States air force conventional bombings on Japan. Therefore, it was regarded as the best place to experiment the effects of the nuclear weapon. The allies had a fear that any attempt to attack Japan would result in fatalities since Japan had a robust military base that coincidentally, has its support in Hiroshima. The bomb was seen as the only suitable way to bring the war to an end. (Asada, 1988, 2007)
Effects of the Bomb on Japanese
The United States bombings on Japan resulted in horrific casualties and significant long-term effects. Some of the effects are the exposure to radiations which increased the rates of cancer among the survivors. Many scientists up to date are under the influence that the survivors faced health effects and are at high rates of getting cancer. (Roesch, 1987)
Over the next few years, the cities of Japan saw a spike in leukemia. It was the most deadly long-term side effect that occurred two years after the bombing. It was estimated that people caught up in the blast had a 46% chance being affected by leukemia. Later, there were increased cases of breast cancer. Young women were at a higher risk of getting breast cancer if and only if they were exposure of more than 100 rads. (Wanebo, et al., 1968) The exposers to radiation are three times as likely to develop breast cancer, than someone who wasn't exposed to radiation. Similar, there was an increase in patients with anemia, a disease relating to a situation where the blood fails to create enough red blood cells. To some individuals, the effect lasted for a long time lasting to even ten years. Increase in Cataract is when the lens of the eye becomes foggy. Cases cataracts came several years after the bombs. The first case was exactly three years after the bombing. (Folley et al., 1952)
Keloids. In 1946, keloids also developed. Keloid is a situation in which a scar is healing but heals too much, causing swelling and later abnormal growth. Radiations are believed to be the sole causes of keloids. The scar tissue grows and ends up looking like a crab. (Folley et al., 1952)
Birth Complications. A handful of surveys specifically completed in Nagasaki proved a high rate of infant deaths. The study demonstrated that 98 pregnant women expose in the blast out of a possible 113 women gave birth to babies with some disabilities. The children suffered in growth and the general development of their bodies and this resulted in some children being born with microcephaly, a condition where the head is smaller than required. Microcephaly cannot be cured. However, can be treated. (Roesch, 1987)
When the bombs were dropped, they destroyed everything including the crops. People were worried that the waste fields could not support the growth of any plans and that the radiations were too much for them to live there. It was not safe. Only are some few years that the cities began to rebuild and the soil could inhabit some crops. As time passed by, the levels of radiation dropped significantly, and hence the places were considered safe for human inhabitation. (Roesch, 1987)
Conclusion
The effects of bombing Hiroshima and Nagasaki were more negative than positive. The bombs resulted in the death of many innocent civilians I the attempts to stop the war, which we might say was a positive effect of the bomb. However, we should not rest on the conclusion that nuclear bombing is the sole answer to surrendering. The United States should have sorted other ways to end the war without causing the devastating effects if the bombs in Japan. Eliminating nuclear weapons, no matter how worthy a project is, on its own cannot and will not put an end to "man's inhumanity to man." Therefore, the humanist position must always emphasize the importance of human life over political expediency.
Works Cited
.Asada, Sadao. "The shock of the atomic bomb and Japan's decision to surrender: a reconsideration." Pacific Historical Review 67.4 (1998): 477-512.
Asada, Sadao. Culture shock and Japanese-American relations: Historical essays. University of Missouri Press, 2007.
Folley, Jarrett H., Wayne Borges, and Takuso Yamawaki. "Incidence of leukemia in survivors of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan." The American journal of medicine 13.3 (1952): 311-321
Freedman, Laurence and Saki Dockrill. “Hiroshima: a strategy of shock.” From Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima. Palgrave Macmillan, London 1994. 191-212.
Herbert P. Bix, "Japan's Delayed Surrender: A Reinterpretation," Diplomatic History, 19 (1995), 197-225.
Roesch, William C. "US-Japan joint reassessment of atomic bomb radiation dosimetry in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. DS86. Dosimetry System 1986. Vol. 1." (1987).
Wanebo, C. K., et al. "Breast cancer after exposure to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki." New England Journal of Medicine 279.13 (1968): 667-671.
