Real ‘war crime’ of Hiroshima Japanese refusal to surrender

Besides mourning the use of the world’s first atomic bomb, mourn also the Japanese militarism that required it.

Mourn the Japanese militarism that refused to surrender even after Nagasaki.

Mourn the Japanese militarism that refused to surrender even after Nagasaki and knowing the U.S. had guaranteed Hirohito would stay on the Imperial throne.

Mourn the Japanese militarism that required Hirohito to break imperial/cabinet protocol and demand his war cabinet sue for peace.

Mourn the Japanese militarism that tried a coup against Hirohito to prevent him from announcing to the nation Japan was suing for peace.

War is always hell, as Billy Sherman said. But the Japanese chose to extend hell with incredible irrationality. Beyond everything I mentioned above, the Japanese military knew the Soviet Union was going to attack after refusing to re-up the neutrality treaty, then refusing to continue to act as a go-between with the U.S.

Especially when Japan still refused to surrender after the first bomb, let’s remember where to start the mourning.

Beyond mourning, if you want to call anything a “war crime,” call the Japanese generals’ refusal to surrender a war crime.

And, tell the truth about the alternatives to the bomb.

Yes, a U.S. invasion could have cost hundreds of thousands of deaths. (Not to mention, with the time factor, possibly resulting in Stalin demanding he get Hokkaido, not just the Kuriles.)

A blockade would have had the same international affairs fallout, plus, unless we blockaded the Inland Sea, Japan would have resisted for as long as two full years, yes, with many U.S. naval casualties.