That is a question which borders on the ridiculous. We had NO MEANS of bombing Japan. We had no bases close enough for even the B-17, we had no significant trained military, we had no B-29s, we did not have the munitions. It was months later that Jiamie Doolittle led some B-17s against Tokyo in a penny-ante raid which was done for the benefit of American people.
I could go on and on about this question and why it is nonsensical but recommend you read a history of the Pacific campaign to see just what had to be done, just why it was necessary to expend all those lives.
We could have used our phased plasma weapons on them.
I appreciate your response. It is among those I wanted to solicit to further enlighten myself. Notwithstanding that your personal insults of ‘ridiculous’ and ‘nonsensical’ are unnecessary to make your point, I do understand what you have said and will follow up with further reading. That was, in fact, the point of my question - to get feedback from those more informed on the subject so that I might learn. There are thousands of untold stories of WWII, Korean War and Vietnam War that have been lost in obscurity despite the heroism and valor involved.