Kept sinking their merchant marine fleet go ahead with operation Starvation. Continue bombing military targets—wage war. They would eventually run out of food and supplies.
The Japanese sent out peace feelers both to Sweden and the USSR before the end. The USSR didn’t pass on the approach as Stalin wanted the easy win in Manchuria. Supposedly Ultra picked up the Soviet codes and read them so Eisenhower/Truman knew the Japanese wanted to negotiate surrender. Now WHY he didn’t want it is another matter…maybe he didn’t trust the Japanese or maybe he wanted to use the A-Bomb as a way to scare the USSR???
“ On 30 June, Tōgō told Naotake Satō, Japan’s ambassador in Moscow, to try to establish “firm and lasting relations of friendship.” Satō was to discuss the status of Manchuria and “any matter the Russians would like to bring up.”[59] Well aware of the overall situation and cognizant of their promises to the Allies, the Soviets responded with delaying tactics to encourage the Japanese without promising anything. Satō finally met with Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov on 11 July, but without result. On 12 July, Tōgō directed Satō to tell the Soviets that:
His Majesty the Emperor, mindful of the fact that the present war daily brings greater evil and sacrifice upon the peoples of all the belligerent powers, desires from his heart that it may be quickly terminated. But so long as England and the United States insist upon unconditional surrender, the Japanese Empire has no alternative but to fight on with all its strength for the honor and existence of the Motherland.[60]”
The Japanese also reputedly sent offers to Sweden to act as an intermediary. Even earlier than the USSR I think.
I don’t think we would have to have invaded just negotiate with them in a conditional manner. My grandfather was an army Air-force engineer in the 821st AEF Battalion in the SW Pacific. I certainly don’t want him to have had to have gone to Japan in a bloody invasion as I possibly wouldn’t be here now if he had.
Kept sinking their merchant marine fleet go ahead with operation Starvation. Continue bombing military targets—wage war. They would eventually run out of food and supplies.
The first ones to run out of food and supplies would have been the civilian population.
Your approach would have killed the entire Japanese civilian population slowly and gradually, rather than a million or two, quickly.
Some humanitarian you are.
I seriously doubt the Japanese vision of “peace” would have been cessation of hostilities, return of troops from the occupied territories, disarmament, and acceptance of an occupying force.
That would have been humiliating, and I suspect even you would admit that the Japanese, especially of that era, would prefer death to dishonor.
Their view of “peace” would have been more of a ceasefire, in which the American stopped bombing them and sinking their ships, they kept their occupied territories and their armaments.
Little Boy and Fat Man saved the lives of Tens. Of. Millions. of Japanese.
Even after being nuked twice, there was still a faction within the Japanese army that attempted a coup to prevent the emperor’s planned surrender.