Japan's Atomic Bomb
I recently found an interesting documentary on YouTube that was apparently produced by the History Channel in the USA. It is called Japan’s Atomic Bomb, and is officially introduced at the following:
A revealing look at the untold story of Japan’s atomic bomb, and how they may have detonated a nuclear device just two days before surrender. Since the end of WWII, conventional wisdom claimed that Imperial Japan was years away from building an atomic weapon–this special shatters this view. Using once secret Japanese wartime documents, we provide evidence that Japan had world- class nuclear physicists, access to uranium ore, and cyclotrons to process it. They devised an innovative way to deliver the bombs using 400-foot long Sen Toku submarines, capable of carrying and launching airplanes. Most startling–just six days after Hiroshima, Japan tested its own atomic device on a small island 20 miles off the Korean coast. The sobering conclusion is that Japan may have been just weeks behind the US in the race for the bomb.
If you’re interested in the documentary, here it is (in 5 parts of about 10 minutes each):
Was Japan actually close to making an atomic bomb? Even if the documentary’s claim that Japan may have detonated a test weapon in the final days of the war, it would have probably taken a long time for their military to produce further weapons that could be used against America. Like many documentaries aimed at creating entertainment for TV viewers, it is ultimately guilty of taking fragmented evidence to build a claim that isn’t entirely realistic. Still, it is interesting to think of the historical “what ifs” of Japan’s atomic weapons program.
One YouTube commenter had a far harsher opinion on the documentary:
What a desperate attempt to justify the cowardly slaughter of the innocent civillians in hiroshima and nagasaki. It still weighs very heavy on your concience, or am i right America ?
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There is also a 90-minute dramatized documentary produced by the BBC in 2004. It is called Hiroshima. It offers good insights from both sides. However, I have read criticisms that say it is more biased towards the American side and offer a justification to the action.
Here is an excerpt:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=CqgFZ3z_RZc
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For some reason, I’m not surprised.
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Some people also claim the Germans built an atomic bomb (a dirty bomb to be more accurate) and tested it somewhere in Poland (?) if i’m not mistaken.
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“It still weighs very heavy on your concience, or am i right America ?”
Why would it weigh heavily on any American’s conscious anymore? It happened a long time ago and over 50 years before I was born. I couldn’t care less about the event and feel neither ashamed nor proud of the event. It’s a completely apathetic piece of history.
It’s pretty outrageous that this guy thinks we need to justify anything.
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Whoa, correction, I said “over 50 years before I was born”. That’s about off by 20 years. Don’t know how I messed that one up! More like 35 years before I was born!
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Old news. Weber writes about Japan’s A-bomb here:
http://www.amazon.com/Silent-Siege-III-Civilians-Documentary/dp/0936738731
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I also heard Liechtenstein has the bomb now.
http://www.theonion.com/content/video/liechtenstein_successfully_tests
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Yes, there is justification for the American A bomb! The real truth of the matter is, sadly, that in war as in love, everything goes. Japan started the war in Asia in 1931 without being provoked and they slaughtered the Chinese and all the other peoples they could put their hands on. If the Americans used atomic bombs, the only reason is because they had them. If the Japanese had had them, they would have used them also, but they didn’t. Sorry for them! The Japanese killed more civilians than soldiers in WWII, and what they got in return was what a back payment for what they started. Now Japan is more civilized than before and remebers every year their atomic punishments which they very well deserved. It certainly paid off to use it. PS: Japan history books still deny responsibility for what they did to other countries.
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