Japan. 68 Whilst many would argue that this was a high and inappropriate cost for victory, some argue and believe that this staggering loss of life was a necessary evil. For the United States, there were other options considered before they decided on the use of the atomic bomb; one of these options was a mainland invasion of Japan using conventional troops, akin to the island campaigns that they fought in the pacific. However, the Japanese military and its civilian population at the time would not surrender without the assurance from the Emperor of Japan because of the way he was regarded in Japan: “the Japanese would very likely fight to the last man. Very few Japanese units had surrendered in the bloody island fighting, and there was ample evidence that the Japanese soldier was prepared to die for the Emperor”. 69 Other options were also considered by the United States, such as a naval blockade or strategic bombing campaign of major Japanese cities. However as proven in the island hopping campaigns, the Japanese were fanatical to the emperor and would have risked starvation and death. In addition, this was a time- consuming operation that the United States aimed to avoid in order to end the war with Japan as quickly as possible. 70 With this in mind the decision to use the nuclear bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki can be described as a necessary evil as when compared to the other military options presented by the US Armed Forces. Theoretically, the loss of civilian life by bombing Hiroshima and Nagasaki would be a lot less than a mainland invasion, blockade or strategic bombing campaign. 68 Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, The Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (2016), <http://www.cnduk.org/campaigns/global- abolition/hiroshima-a-nagasaki> [Accessed 12 February 2019]. 69 Gar Alperovitz & Sanho Tree, The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb: And the Architecture of an American Myth (London: Fontana, 1996). 70 Maciej Huczko, ‘Alternatives to Dropping the A-Bomb in Bringing the War with Japan to an End’, Vistula Scientific Quarterly , 39.1 (2014), 128-137
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