Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

Deception of Stalin…Truman’s Contentment with Hiroshima’s Bomb | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
Select Page
Media ID: 55361151
Caption:

Devastated: Hardly any buildings in Hiroshima were left standing
after the massive atomic bomb blast


The first round of talks showcased the U.S. offer for the Japanese government to announce unconditional compromise and to provide the required pledges to prove good intentions.

Today’s round will focus on the decisive moments that led the Emperor to take the final decision on ending the battle, considered a precedent in the country’s history.

Another time, General Tojo handled the command, the arrogant 62-years-old man who despises others, said that given that Potsdam Conference will be the base of any peace talks, details will be discrete till the government reaches its final decision, however, other officials preferred to inform the Japanese people on the conference outputs, because any delay will be grasped as a Japanese fear from the position.

Finally the government agreed on making a foggy announcement, the Japanese government decided to ignore the conference but the United States and the European countries saw the government’s step as a despise and rejection for the conference.

Commenting on the Japanese government’s statement, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense noted that moving forward with the war in Japan, will lead the country and the national Japanese army toward mass destruction, by the time Japan was still waiting for the response of the Soviet Union.

Tojo knew that it is impossible to convince Russians in supporting the Japanese government, but he tried to recruit them as an intermediate to negotiate the other party; at least to reach an agreement that allows his country to surrender without conditions.

After few days, Russia announced that it lost interest in the neutrality agreement with the Japanese party; Moscow preferred to remain silent and seemed to be careless, yet the Emperor and his council were still hoping for positive Soviet reactions…Days were passing by and Japan was still waiting for Stalin’s response.

At that time, the Japanese government knew it won’t lose the war and that it has two options only: death or victory.

On the first evening of August, Hiroshima’s Station radar detected two B29 warplanes and despite the launch of the alerts, Japanese people didn’t expect the bombing. However, within few minutes, a blinding white light covered the atmosphere, 64,000 people were either killed or waiting for their death.

The first announcement after the disaster didn’t enfold much details but it reported that the enemies’ airplanes caused massive damages by throwing new type of bombs.The next morning, the army knew that Hiroshima was completely destroyed with one nuclear bomb; information was approved by Washington, President Truman said: “we spent two billion dollars, we possess the best scientific achievement in the history and we won”. He added: “If the Japanese ignore our warning, they should expect unprecedented destruction”.

Following the U.S. attack, the Emperor told the Prime Minister that the new weapon used by the Allies deprived Japan from its power and that this war should be ended without delay. According to close sources, the Emperor was keen not to allow the tragedy of Hiroshima to reoccur.

On the same day, the Japanese Ambassador to Moscow was received a call by Vyacheslav Molotov who notified him that the Soviet Union decided to launch war against Japan, within two hours, the Red Army carried out an organized attack to destroy the Japanese army, which was considered an illegitimate act because Japan and the Soviet were still part of a neutrality agreement till April 1946.

However, Stalin legitimized its decision supported by Truman, and Suzuki’s government knew that it had to surrender without conditions or it will face unavoidable destruction. The Allies also bombed Nagasaki and Truman announced that they will use these bombs to completely destroy the Japanese power, noting that surrender is the one and only solution.

The council was unable to take a final decision, which pushed the Emperor to personally consider announcing the end of the war…