3 ms·
After the second atomic bombing, Japanese army officers tried to overthrow the Emperor to prevent the surrender. They narrowly failed, after successfully plac
by robonerd 5y ago
After the second atomic bombing, Japanese army officers tried to overthrow the Emperor to prevent the surrender. They narrowly failed, after successfully placing the Emperor under house arrest, because the surrender message was smuggled out of the palace. And this happened in Tokyo, which surely knew the horrors of war already, having been extensively firebombed for months. Had things gone a little differently, it's possible that two bombs might not have been enough.
- badRNG 5y agoI think maybe either my comment was misinterpreted or I wasn't clear enough. As I stated before, I'm not wanting to start a debate on whether nuking Japan was justified nor am I taking a position one way or the other. What my comment aims to do is to push back on specific claims made about this position (that the bombing was unjustified,) namely the claims that this position is recent, not rooted in primary sources, is a fringe out-there position to give academics a name for themselves, and originates in Russian propaganda. It is not recent, it is rooted in primary sources, and it was a position held from the very beginning by the top brass of the US military at the time.