Well, I guess they could have continued to fight instead of surrendering. Their population today would be about 2 million, and no real post war recovery to talk about. Maybe they should thank us for all the major investments that made their recovery possible?
Not true. An invasion was not necessary. The Japanese (who were being strangled by the blockade) were ready to agree to a conditional surrender (thus avoiding an invasion) BEFORE the bombs were dropped. The sticking point was whether they could keep the emperor. Truman, backed up by his bitter end New Deal advisors who wanted to eliminate all vestiges of the imperial regime, refused. Ironically, Truman finally agreed to such a conditional surrender when, after dropping of the two bombs, the Japanese still held out on this point. 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.