It's funny how that inconvenient little fact gets overlooked in our colored view of history. Whether the attack was justified or not, Pearl Harbor was a military target -- and it was located in a disputed American possession that wasn't even a state at the time. What was the military value of killing hundreds of thousands of Japanese civilians?
Gee, I don't know. Unconditional surrender maybe?
Japan surrendered because they believed that we would keep nuking them until they did.
The same as the military value of killing hundreds of thousands of German civilians; among other things, it kept them from getting up in the morning and going to work making weapons that would be used to kill our soldiers.
That, and it provided a powerful example that their existing course of action would lead only to more death and destruction.
Wow, so you’re justifying a sneak attack on the U.S. when war had not been declared by either nation? Are you sure you’re on the right web site?
And to answer your last question - it ended the war and saved many, many more lives than it cost, including Japanese lives. If you don’t think that’s the case, you need a history lesson.
From what I understand, the two cities on which the bombs were dropped were where their factories of war equipment and ammunition were produced. Also, the US dropped leaflets for days before the bombs were dropped, warning them to evacuate those cities. The blame rests solely on the back of the emperor, who did not order the evacuation. At least warning was given. There was no warning for the sailors at Pearl Harbor.