Rebuilding Japan After World War II

1. Rebuilding Japan After World War II

2. Reasons for Rebuilding Japan

3. Reasons for US Rebuilding Japan • Stop the spread of communism throughout Asia and promote democracy in the region by reforming Japan’s monarchy into a constitutional monarchy (democracy with an emperor with limited power). • Improve Japan’s economy in order to trade with Japan and sell US products to Japan’s market.

4. Reasons for US Rebuilding Japan • Stop the spread of communism throughout Asia • Promote democracy in the region by reforming Japan’s monarchy into a constitutional monarchy • Improve Japan’s economy in order to trade with Japan and sell US products to Japan’s market

5. 1941

6. Potsdam Declaration

7. By 1945 Japan was almost beaten. The Japanese navy and airforce were completely destroyed. The soldiers were low on ammunition, civilians were going hungry, but Japan refused to surrender. The leaders of Japan had told their army and civilians that it was dishonourable to surrender. It was better to die fighting than be taken prisoner. As American forces got closer to Japan the Japanese changed their tactics. Japanese pilots flew their planes straight into American warships in suicide attacks. These kamikaze of attacks by Japanese planes were almost impossible to stop.

8. The Potsdam Declaration • July 26, 1945: Japan is given an ultimatum, known as the Potsdam declaration: • Japan must surrender immediately or face “prompt and utter destruction”. • Implies that Emperor Hirohito would be removed from the throne. • No mention of Soviet entry in the war or the atomic bomb.

9. Excerpt from the Potsdam Declaration: • “We call upon the government of Japan to proclaim now the unconditional surrender of all Japanese armed forces, and to provide proper and adequate assurances of their good faith in such action. The alternative for Japan is prompt and utter destruction. “

10. Japan’s Response • Japanese premier wanted to accept, could not convince military leaders • Hint from Tokyo that government might surrender, in return that Japan could keep their emperor. • US insisted on unconditional surrender, ie. No emperor, because believed these hints were coming from people who did not have power to follow through. (May have been right) • Officially - Japan refuses to surrender and announces that it will “ignore” the Declaration.

11. Japan’s Response to the Potsdam Declaration • Japan’s response was ambiguous. • Before Japan could agree to any surrender, the top military officials had to figure out a way to satisfy many different groups inside Japan. • Japanese official Suzuki used the word mokusatsu which had a few different English translations. • The US and the US newspapers interpreted the word to mean “reject” when in fact it could have meant something different. • The apparent rejection of the Declaration definitely sped up the process of using the atomic bombs.

12. Japanese View of Unconditional Surrender • Emperor Hirohito was totally against unconditional surrender. • Americans viewed Hirohito as a symbol of military aggression • Unconditional surrender  destruction of “divine” monarchy.

13. Consider this… "As long as America and England insist on unconditional surrender our country has no alternative but to see it through in an all-out effort for the sake of survival and the honor of the homeland." - Japanese prime minister Shigenori Togo in turning down surrender demand, July 11, 1945.

14. Plans to Invade Japan and Decision to Drop Atom Bombs

15. Uses for the Bomb • Against Germany or Japan • General Groves believed it could end World War II. • $2 billion used to build the bomb. Not using it would be a waste. • 'If this weapon fizzles, each of you can look forward to a lifetime of testifying before congressional investigating committees." Gen. Groves to his staff, December 24, 1944

16. Plan to Invade Japan • US planned to invade Japan with eleven Army and Marine divisions (650,000 troops) • Casualty estimates for the operation were as high as 1,400,000 • Truman decided to use the atomic bomb to avoid such losses Operation Cornet, the plan to take Tokyo

17. Many people in Britain and America had little sympathy for the Japanese because of the way they had treated British and American prisoners. Thousands were starved, or worked to death in camps by the Japanese. There was very little respect for the Japanese in Britain and America. The Americans had been dropping incendiary bombs on the wooden cities of Japan for some time. More people died in the night of the Tokyo “fire” raid than Hiroshima, but hundreds of planes and thousands of tons of bombs were needed. One bomb in one plane seemed a better use of resources. But, America only had two atom bombs in August 1945. What if Japan still refused to surrender after both bombs were dropped? Many people were worried about the effect of using atom bombs. Even though one had been tested in a desert in the USA nobody knew how big the blast would be or how far the radiation would reach. Would it destroy all of Japan? Would its radiation stay in Japan? Would the explosion set off an atomic chain reaction around the world? Should such a horrific weapon be used at all?

18. Alternatives to dropping the bomb Drop the bomb or: • Massive invasion of Japan, costing approximately 1 million Allied casualties • Naval blockade to starve Japan and continued fire-bombing • Demo of new weapon on deserted or scarcely populated island to pressure Japan to surrender • Weaken Allied demands for an unconditional surrender • Simply stop fighting

19. Saving Lives by Using the Bomb • Non-combatants were dying throughout Asia at the rate of 200,000 per month. • The complete naval blockade of Japan would have resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths due to malnutrition, dehydration, and famine. • The atomic bomb saved thousands of American soldier’s lives

20. Invading Japan? • If America did invade Japan, many Americans would have died. • Secretary ofState James Byrnes claimed500,000. • Total combat deaths after four years of war – 292,000.

21. Arguments for using the atom bomb on Japan Arguments against using the atom bomb on Japan 1. The American government believed there would be over a million American casualties if they invaded Japan. 3. The Americans had only made two atom bombs by August 1945. They were very expensive and hard to make. What if the Japanese still hadn’t surrendered after both had been used. 4. The “fire” raid on Tokyo killed more Japanese than the atom bomb, but the raid had to be made by hundreds of US planes and thousands of tons of bombs 5. Nobody knew how long the effects of radioactive fall out would last, or if radiation would cause genetic mutation in humans, animals and plants for years afterwards. 7. The Japanese believed anyone who surrendered was dishonourable. Japanese soldiers refused to surrender to the Americans in battle even though they had lost. 8. America could show the rest of the world how powerful and advanced it was by using atomic weapons against Japan 6. Some people were concerned about the huge number of civilian deaths resulting from the atom bomb particularly as it looked like the Japanese were beaten. 9. The Japanese treated prisoners cruelly. Many British and Americans had no sympathy for the Japanese when they heard how their prisoners were starved, worked to death or executed. 11. The new weapon could make Russia feel threatened, and create a post war world filled with tension and fear as a result of atomic weapons. 10. As the Americans got closer to Japan they faced suicide and kamikaze attacks by the Japanese army and airforce. 2. Some American scientists and generals wanted to know what the bomb could do to a live target even though it had already been tested in an empty desert 12. Nuclear technology was new. Nobody knew if the explosion would cause an atomic chain reaction around the world.

22. 12. Nuclear technology was new. Nobody knew if the explosion would cause an atomic chain reaction around the world. 9. The Japanese treated prisoners cruelly. Many British and Americans had no sympathy for the Japanese when they heard how their prisoners were starved, worked to death or executed. 5. Nobody knew how long the effects of radioactive fall out would last, or if radiation would cause genetic mutation in humans, animals and plants for years afterwards. categories 8. America could show the rest of the world how powerful and advanced it was by using atomic weapons against Japan 2. Some American scientists and generals wanted to know what the bomb could do to a live target even though it had already been tested in an empty desert 11. The new weapon could make Russia feel threatened, and create a post war world filled with tension and fear as a result of atomic weapons. 6. Some people were concerned about the huge number of civilian deaths resulting from the atom bomb particularly as it looked like the Japanese were beaten. 10. As the Americans got closer to Japan they faced suicide and kamikaze attacks by the Japanese army and airforce. 4. The “fire” raid on Tokyo killed more Japanese than the atom bomb, but the raid had to be made by hundreds of US planes and thousands of tons of bombs 7. The Japanese believed anyone who surrendered was dishonourable. Japanese soldiers refused to surrender to the Americans in battle even though they had lost. 3. The Americans had only made two atom bombs by August 1945. They were very expensive and hard to make. What if the Japanese still hadn’t surrendered after both had been used. 1. The American government believed there would be over a million American casualties if they invaded Japan.

23. Pros: Demonstration could be a dud Japanese might shoot down test plane Might put POW’s in testing area Only way to make Japan surrender Need to justify the cost of building the bomb and man hours spent working. It would end the war and save countless U.S. military lives Give U.S. more power in rebuilding Europe Mounting tensions w/Russia Cons: Stage a demonstration Would kill thousands of Japanese civilians Would be immoral to drop the bomb w/o prior warning A-Bomb Debate

24. Truman’s Motivations. • Many historians believe that a main reason for the use of the bomb was retaliation for the surprise and brutal attack on Pearl Harbor. • After the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Truman said “This is the greatest thing in history.” and “Nobody is more disturbed over the use of atomic bombs than I am but I was greatly disturbed over the unwarranted attack by the Japanese on Pearl Harbor and their murder of our prisoners of war. • Thousands of POW”S were mistreated

25. Truman’s True Beliefs “We have discovered the most terrible bomb in the history of the world. It may be the fire destruction prophesied in the Euphrates Valley Era, after Noah and his fabulous Ark.” “I have told the Sec. of War, Mr. Stimson, to use it so that military objectives and soldiers and sailors are the target and not women and children.” “He and I are in accord. The target will be a purely military one and we will issue a warning statement asking the Japs to surrender and save lives.”

26. Formal Warning to Japan On August 10, 1945 thousands of leaflets were dropped over the city of Nagasaki The leaflets called for a petition to the Emperor of Japan to stop the war and agree to thirteen consequences of an honorable surrender. The leaflets called for a petition to the Emperor of Japan to stop the war and agree to thirteen consequences of an honorable surrender. Sample Leaflet

27. The Americans feared that if they tried to invade Japan millions of American soldiers would be killed in suicidal attacks by Japanese soldiers. They had seen even civilians commit suicide when they invaded the Japanese island of Saipan. So America had to make Japan surrender without an invasion by American troops. On the 6th of August 1945 a B29 bomber plane called the “Enola Gay” dropped one bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Thousands of civilians were killed or horribly burned. More people died of atomic radiation afterwards. This was the world’s first nuclear weapon. When another atom bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki a few days later, Japan finally surrendered.

28. The first Atomic bomb to be used in war… ‘little boy’. This bomb was shipped from the US a mere 4 hours after the ‘Trinity’ A-bomb test in the US. The actual radioactive material inside was the size of an orange. The Atomic Bomb

29. Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki – Forced Japan to surrender and the end of the war. August 6, 1945 _______ ______ August 9, 1945 Physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer headed the new U.S. laboratory built to design an atomic bomb. Oppenheimer recommended a remote site in New Mexico for the new facility, where project scientists, many of them world-famous, could work together in complete secrecy. The Los Alamos Laboratory was opened in April 1943.

30. Hiroshima – August 6, 1945 • Chosen because of its large size, its being "an important army depot" and the potential that the bomb would cause greater destruction because the city was surrounded by hills • Approximately 140,000 deaths by the end of 1945 • About ½ on the day of the bombing • Others died from injury or illness due to radiation • The majority dead were civilians

31. Hiroshima and Nagasaki • Hiroshima Aug 6, 1945 • 90,000 killed • On Aug 8, the USSR declared war on Japan and invaded Manchuria the next day • Nagasaki Aug 9, 1945 • 35,000 killed • Okinawa had been much more costly than Hiroshima and Nagasaki Captain Paul Tibbets piloted the plane that dropped the bomb on Hiroshima

32. Hiroshima - 90,000 to 100,000 persons were killed immediately - 145,000 persons perish from the bombing by the end of 1945. Nagasaki Leveled Area: 6.7 million square metersDamaged Houses: 18,409CasualtiesKilled------73,884Injured-----74,909Total------148,793(Large numbers of people died in the following years from the effects of radioactive poisoning.) Little Boy Fat Man

33. Nagasaki – August 9, 1945 • Nagasaki was one of the largest sea ports in southern Japan and was of great wartime importance because of its wide-ranging industrial activity, including the production of ordnance, ships, military equipment, and other war materials. • Bombings prior to the Atomic Bomb caused concern and many civilians left for rural areas • An area about 2.3 miles by 1.9 miles was destroyed • Approximately 80,000 deaths by the end of 1945

34. Nuclear Strikes Aug 6, 1945. Uranium bomb “Little Boy” dropped on Hiroshima, killing 140,000 Aug 9, 1945. Plutonium bomb “Fat Man” dropped on Nagasaki, killing 74,000

35. Within a few seconds the thousands of people in the streets and the gardens in the center of the town were scorched by a wave of searing heat. Many were killed instantly, others lay writhing on the ground, screaming in agony from the intolerable pain of their burns. Everything standing upright in the way of the blast, walls, houses, factories, and other buildings, was annihilated. ~ Japanese journalist, August 6, 1945. “I could see below the mushroom cloud…the thing reminded me more of a boiling pot of tar than any other description I can give. It was black and boiling underneath with a steam haze on top of it…We had seen the city when we flew in, and there was nothing to see when we came back. It was covered by this boiling, black-looking mass.” ~ Col. Paul W. Tibbets, Jr. (pilot, Enola Gay) 8:15 a.m. Hiroshima, Japan August 6, 1945

37. Hiroshima Before the Bomb

38. Hiroshima After the Bomb

39. Hiroshima, vicinity of ground zero

40. Nagasaki before and after the atomic bomb

42. www.smh.com.au

45. Effects of the Bombs

49. Keloids

50. Devastation