Posted on 08/06/2010 7:59:03 AM PDT by americanophile
Sixty-five years after the United States dropped "Little Boy" on Hiroshima, effectively ending World War II and ushering in an era of nuclear dread, the US sent its first delegation to the annual ceremony to remember the over 100,000 Japanese who lost their lives in the bombing.
Britain and France also sent representatives for the first time.
While some Japanese hailed the presence of the US and other nuclear powers as a sign of commitment to eventual nuclear disarmament, for others it was too little, too late. Some Japanese still want an apology for the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, while others complained about the absence of President Obama.
Some of Hiroshima’s hibakusha – as atomic bomb survivors are known – criticized the US ambassador for failing to meet with them, apologize for the bombing, or even offer a floral tribute. Others however, saw his visit as a sign of progress.
On the streets of Tokyo, there were mixed feelings regarding the US delegation’s attendance. “It’s good they’ve come, but why has it taken 65 years?” asked an office worker who was watching the morning’s ceremony from Hiroshima on public broadcast NHK. “And really, Obama should be here after the speeches he’s made about nuclear weapons."
US Ambassador to Japan John Roos was joined by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and delegates from over 70 countries as Prime Minister Naoto Kan implored the world to “accept the Japanese people's hope that nuclear destruction never takes place again."
(Excerpt) Read more at csmonitor.com ...
Besides, I would consider all the money we spent rebuilding the country as “Payment in Full.”
“How about the same time we get an apology for Pearl Harbor
And the Bataan Death March!!”
They attacked us first, therefore they should apologize first. Bunch of sniveling little hypocrites.
No I am not....Just pointing out where this all began...JAPAN, not as your post would suggest, with US.
I have nothing against Japanese people, we were at war and both sides did what they justified was necessary to win.
Last time I looked at pictures, Hiroshima is a thriving, bustling modern city, not some radiated wasteland.
The Japanese Ambassador to the United States did so, directly to the U.S. survivors:
Japan Apologizes for Bataan Death March: Ambassador Speaks to Last 73 American Survivors of the March
There's a list of some 50 apologies that the Japanese have made since the Pacific War here.
(That list includes reference to a story that the Emperor had intended to apologize for the war (including explicitly the attack on Pearl) at MacArthur aide: U.S. must learn from errors. I don't believe that there are any other references to this story in any standard work on the war, so I take that particular article with a large grain of salt.)
The japanese had ever intention of fighting for every inch of japan. They called it operation keshuga.
Estimates for the invasion handed to Truman before his decision to use the bomb:
US casualties: 1.75 to 4 million
Japanese casualties: 10 million minimum. Could have been 30 million including combat, starvation and disease.
You have no idea what you are talking about. Japan was still capable of doing massive damage at the end of the war.
Certainly some Japanese realized the war was lost. Not all did. There was a (nearly successful) plot by the army to prevent the surrender after the bombs were dropped. There were American POWs in enemy hands dying every day. The Japanese were planning to release plague in Southern California (which we did not know at the time). Even if a surrender could have been effected without further combat deaths (which I doubt), American lives were still saved by our dropping the bomb and Japan's immediate surrender.
Its all Iffy History. What if the assassination attempt on the emperor succeeded? Old ladies and Babies?? Ya mean like in Dresden, Berlin, Hamburg, where there were also a lot of good christians? The fire bombing of Tokyo was probably equal to the A Bombs. Yeah, like it would have made a difference.
It was not necessary to INTENTIONALLY violate the ancient rules of war by INTENTIONALLY kill thousands of babies and little old ladies (many who lived in Nagasaki, the heart of Japanese Christianity) solely to promote terror...............................................................Its all Iffy History. What if the assassination attempt on the emperor succeeded? Old ladies and Babies?? Ya mean like in Dresden, Berlin, Hamburg, where there were also a lot of good christians? The fire bombing of Tokyo was probably equal to the A Bombs. Yeah, like it would have made a difference.
“It was not necessary to INTENTIONALLY violate the ancient rules of war by INTENTIONALLY kill thousands of babies and little old ladies (many who lived in Nagasaki, the heart of Japanese Christianity) solely to promote terror.”
I do believe the US dropped leaflets WEEKS before dropping the bomb on each city - telling them to leave the city or be destroyed! Therefore, we did not “INTENTIONALLY kill thousands of babies and little old ladies;” they failed to leave the area with forewarning of the impending attack.
I guess you think it was Bush’s fault that hundreds died during Katrina too?!?! You think this even though FEMA recommended to the local authorities that they have a mandatory evacuation - three days BEFORE Katrina hit! Katrina upgraded from a Cat3 to a Cat5 in less than two days and local authorities STILL did not demand a mandatory evacuation until less than 24 hours before the storm actually made landfall!
Nice revision of history or are you just choosing to ignore it?
They started it...we finished it...end of story.
Emperor Hirohito did go to the Arizona Memorial when he visited the US in 1975.
Well there was Grenada.
Thank you, snowsislander, for the links. It is very interesting!
You are most welcome.
As I said in posting #65, I would take the third link, MacArthur aide: U.S. must learn from errors, with a big grain of salt. I don't know of any standard work on the aftermath of the Pacific War that substantiates that story. The events sound at least plausible, but the lack of other corroborating sources makes it at best dubious in my opinion.
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