No one needs to apologize for Harry Truman.
History has proven over and over that his decision saved thousands of American lives that would have been ended during an Invasion not to mention the millions of Japanese lives ended as collateral damage.
Total war kills totally.
Agreed! Among those lives saved were one of my Uncles and my Father’s lives as both were slated to be in the first five waves of the invasion of the home islands of Japan.
The point about the Japanese lives saved often gets lost. The Japanese plan for the defense of the Home Islands, Ketsu-go, included high school girls charging the Americans with spears. Imagine how sickening would’ve been a battle between soldiers and Marines with machine guns and flame-throwers and civilians with spears.
We may very well have had to fight in Japan twice.
Had we invaded, the Soviets would have also joined the fight, and thus, Japan would most likely have been divided, like Korea and Germany. And of course, the Communists would have gone for the whole thing in a civil war, just like in Korea.
Actually, to me, any nip that whines about the consequences of aggressive war is a bushido violator, has lost face, and should immediately commit ritual seppuku.