The number of people estimated to be killed in the two invasions of Japan > the number of people killed in the atomic bombings. Worst-case predictions were O(m

The number of people estimated to be killed in the two invasions of Japan > the number of people killed in the atomic bombings. Worst-case predictions were O(million casualties). As was point out, the firebombing of Tokyo did more damage and killed more people but was less "efficient". The Navy's option was to mine the harbours and blow up the trains and let them all starve. Not the quickest but possibly the harshest. The problem was war weariness and a desire to play with the toy and to show it off to others. I don't have a good feeling as to the actual levels of these three positions because I don't favour political history but they were real concerns. They had already used bomb them back into the stone age to little effect. Yeah, maybe it would have been sufficient to add "and you can keep the Emperor as a symbol of Japan" but the behaviour in the war in the pacific was far from civil.