Japanese Defense Minister: Atomic Bombings Were An Inevitable Way To End The War

Thanks for the translations. My japanese is about as good as my martian. I got those quotes from Wikipedia.

When I watch programming on the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings I am always saddened by the suffering of the victims. Never though do I see the Japanese nation as a victim as in the eyes of Mr Nobuo Miyake. Japan was a criminal nation that caused suffering in Korea, China and the Phillipines to mention a few places. In August of 1945 the United States did what it had to do in the best interests of its soldiers and at the same time inflicted the due punishment on a nation that viewed others as inferior. It was this notion of Japanese superiority that led to events such as the Baton death march and comfort women. What should be remembered when they gather in Hiroshima every year is not the bombing alone, but the evil acts of Japan and the punishment they received for it.

While my spelling was a little off due to my passion, I beleive my point was made, hence no response. I live in a great but not perfect country. Many of you around the world came here to make up this great nation and in turn create many around the world that should be grateful for its existence and their freedom. At some point in the furture you will come to realize your need for our leadership and once again be greatful for our existence … history repeating itself.

I personally think the biggest war crime the USA committed in WW2 was letting the USSR have half of Europe. If the USA had listened to Patton maybe millions would not have had to spend the next 50 years behind the iron curtain.

As for the USA not paying a high price, I find that the 400,000 US dead enough. This war was not ours yet we basically saved Europe from Germany and rid the Pacific of a spreading Japanese threat and domination.

After 60 years of relative peace thanks to American power much of the free world has gone soft. Now a new threat arises in Europe and it festers within. Muslim fanaticism has infiltrated and has begun to poison many countries. Let’s see how long it takes for the tea sipping Nevel Chamberlains of the world to be silenced in shame and then the real work can be done. I am guessing it will take a little more than a few car bombs.

There’s nothing wrong with Muslism first of all! What is wrong is that the U.S. uses nuclear threat as an excuse to intervene other countries’ interior affairs. They use all kinds of excuses to initiate wars around the world, acting as world wide police. They “conquered” those countries such as Iraq and Afgan with “justice”, and set up “idle” government; what they do is to fulfill their dream of “Super USA”, but not better off the world.

Bill,

I am with you on this one. WW2 was tit-for-tat. american carpet bombings were atrocious but it was in response to an atrocious aggressor. kyuma could have been more tactful, but what he said is not very extreme or unreasonable. the conduct of the japanese nation was not very tactful at that time either. it is ridiculous that he should have to resign for such mild comments. especially, in light of the callous remarks of other politicians recently (eg. no evidence of nanking massacre, continuing comfort women fiasco etc. ) that displayed a complete lack of empathy for the real victims of the war (the common people of asia).
after 3 years of living in japan, i have heard many times from the japanese around me about the horrors of the a-bomb, tokyo firebombing etc but i am yet to hear any sign of acknowledgement from my acquaintances of the wrongs committed by japan during those dark times. if the subject is broached, the typical response is either awkward silence or something like “muzukashii mondai dane”.

jiang,
there is something very wrong with muslims and islam. any organisation that aims to kill people based purely upon not being members forfeits any of the courtesies that we normally extend to others.

“A better analogy, though not perfect, might be a German politician getting in trouble for saying it couldn’t be helped that the Allies bombed Dresden” fair point. it was overkill – literally.
i still maintain, the guy should be able to speak his mind without losing his job.

im not saying all muslims are terrorists. i have mates that are muslim. anyway, i think such people either dont swallow the horseshit of their religion and live a lie due to social obligations (in this case, they are not really muslim), or, they are certified nutters. problem is, we dont know which. i recently had a no pork bbq, knowing that one of the guests was muslim. its a weird dichotomy – respecting and liking the individual but having disdain for their proclaimed set of beliefs.
my point about western christians was exactlty that – most of them are no longer christian. some cling to some component of the religion (theism, community events, etc) most have simply abondoned it.

back to the original topic…

As a veteran of the USAF and having been stationed in Japan (2 yrs- loved it) I am not unfamiliar with the topic. My mother-in-law was near Nagasaki as a girl and her family experienced medical issues which are possibly due to radiation exposure. It’s possible my own children have genetic damage passed on as a result (although I don’t think so). So I think I am entitled to my opinion and have a couple of points to raise:

First, in trying to condemn the US for using the atom bomb. Does anyone doubt what Tojo or Stalin or Hitler would have done if they had them? Really?

WW2 was horrendous for all involved. It is important to question our governments actions, but it is important to do so in an informed, and un-emotional manner- unless you just want to rant. In which case you know nobody really wants to listen.

Trying to compare “your attrocities” against “my attrocities” or “their attrocities” sounds like a pointless kids pissing-match. Early in the war, civilian centers became targets of aerial bombing, and all sides found themselves eventually convinced that it was a military necessity. You don’t bring a knife to a gun fight. Doesn’t make it “right” just the way it was. Somebody should be blamed for starting that policy, but you know it wasn’t the U.S. We were too late to the war to own that one.

That doesn’t address the issue that some sides were actively engaged in genocide. Some attempts were made at bacteriological warfare (spreading bubonic plague amongst enemy civilians- failed) and chemical weapons were used (although I am not familiar with any cases of purposeful targeting of civilians, I suspect it was limited due to cost). The US was not doing that, however. My point is CONTEXT- judge the actions by the standards of the time, if you want to understand them. That’s slightly different than use today’s standards to pass judgement on the past- which is what most people want to engage in (i.e. understanding vs. blame).

You could make the arguement that we (and I include the Japanese in that) live in a world where such things are looked at in hindsight as horrible, and not something we- most of us, anyway experience every day ourselves personally. When was the last time genocide reached out and killed your whole family? When were you last bombed? Never? Ask yourself how it is that your little corner of the world happens to have come to that point today. Is it thanks to YOUR personal action? Or do you have OTHERS to thank? I think a clear honest answer to that should damper people’s ardent furor over blaming the U.S. over a strategic military decision that cost approx. 120,000 lives (about 0.24 percent of the LOW estimate of 50 million WW2 dead). Remember the cost of that decision affects MY family today, before you say I am just some clueless idiot.

None of this means the U.S. is perfect or unquestionable or should not be challenged to explain it’s actions. But ask yourself, of the WW2 governments, which ones accepted THAT principle? And which ones are left? I think Canada, Australia, NZ, UK, and U.S. are the only countries still lead by the same government. Conclusions?

So did you want to argue it wasn’t unavoidable? Or that the U.S. is “bad”? Or how the world would be better if it hadn’t happened (say, Nazis had the nukes instead)?

I have to assume that Mr. Kyuma probably knows better than I do about what was necessary or unavoidable to end the war, he being a first hand witness to the times in Japan and representing the prefecture that includes Nagasaki (re-elected 9 times?). He didn’t dismiss the suffering or horror of the bombings. He didn’t say it was a good thing. I think he challenged the Japanese view that they were the “victims”. His statement was a simple personal view, he accepted that it was unavoidable (from the U.S. perspective) and ended the war.

How people react to that says alot… about them, not Mr. Kyuma.