In August 1945, the Hiroshima atomic bomb instantly wiped out the lives of more than 80,000 Japanese people, and also devastated Emperor Hirohito, who was thousands of miles away.
The dream of several generations of Japanese people to "expand their borders and promote national prestige" has been shattered. When it comes to the key reasons for the surrender of the Japanese, most people first think of the two atomic bombs of the United States.
After World War II, the view represented by American academics generally believed that it was these two atomic bombs that avoided the ** of millions of soldiers and civilians, and without the atomic bombs, the Allies would have paid an unimaginable price to fight on Japanese soil and shed more blood.
There is also an opinion based on the fact that Japan still retains the emperor system after the war, and that Japan did not surrender unconditionally, but conditionally, and that the Japanese surrendered suddenly because the Allies agreed that the emperor would not be tried after the war.
So, at that time, with 7 million troops and 7,000 aircraft, what were the decisive factors that made Japan, which occupied a vast area, choose to surrender? Is there something hidden in this?
After the war, Nazi Germany was completely occupied, the Prussian administrative district, the symbol of fascism, was permanently eliminated, and the Allies completely swept away the remnants of fascism. On the contrary, Japan abolished the old imperial constitution, instituted a pacifist constitution, and punished a series of war criminals.
But the Japanese emperor as the head of state was not punished, and the imperial system continued to exist in Japan, which provided an excuse for some right-wing scholars to claim that Japan did not surrender unconditionally and that the core of the state system still exists today.
On August 10, 1945, Japan attempted to submit a conditional surrender document to the Allies, agreeing to surrender as long as the post-war imperial system was allowed to continue and the Japanese emperor enjoyed pre-war privileges.
The next day, however, the Allies decisively rejected this request, and the US Secretary of State made it clear that the Japanese Emperor's authority must be disposed of under the authority of the Allied Supreme Commander, as stipulated in the Potsdam Proclamation.
Therefore, the so-called unconditional surrender of the Allies actually demanded that all Japanese, including the Emperor of Japan, lay down ** and leave them at the disposal of the Allies, and the survival of the Emperor System depended on the arrangements of the Allies, and Japan could only accept the decisions of the Allies.
However, after receiving the reply, the hard-line Japanese soldiers expressed their dissatisfaction and were ready to continue fighting to preserve the Japanese national body. However, Emperor Hirohito agreed to surrender within a few days, and in his signed surrender document stated "unconditional surrender."
This move showed that Emperor Hirohito's surrender was not unconditional, but accepted the arrangements and decisions of the Allies, which was undoubtedly a compromise and acceptance of Japan's demand for the surrender of the Allies.
Therefore, history cannot be tampered with, and Emperor Hirohito's surrender was not unconditional.
In the first meeting between Emperor Hirohito and MacArthur, Hirohito made it clear that although the United States retained the emperor system after the war, taking into account various factors, this decision was not necessarily related to whether Japan opposed it.
Regarding the analysis of the direct causes of Japan's surrender, the atomic bomb** has always occupied the mainstream position. Only a few days passed from the first atomic bomb** on August 6 to the second atomic bomb on August 9 to Japan's surrender.
Coupled with the astonishing lethal effect of the atomic bomb **, as well as the long-term terrorist propaganda of nuclear **, the atomic bomb is naturally regarded as the last straw that crushed Japan, and it is also the direct cause of the surrender of the Japanese.
After the end of World War II, this view was shared by the Americans and widely accepted by the Japanese.
Many people in Japan believe that the benevolent emperor had no choice but to surrender in the face of the power of the atomic bomb because he was concerned about the survival of the Yamato nation and the survival of the people.
Some people even think that they just lost to the world-destroying **, which cannot be changed by manpower. However, by delving into the historical documents, we can be surprised to learn that this widely accepted view is in fact a false legend, a misconception that has been established for decades.
Is the atomic bomb really a powerful ** that can force the Japanese to submit? Looking back at the bombing records of that time, we can see that in the five months before the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, the massive bombing of Tokyo by the US military killed more than 90,000 people in a single day, leaving millions homeless.
These data show that the atomic bomb, while powerful, is not invincible.
In the bombing of Toyama City in early August of the same year, almost 100% of the buildings were destroyed. As far as the Japanese who were bombed to pieces by air raids can also be seen from the reaction of the Japanese top leadership at that time.
On August 7 of the same year, after the Japanese top brass was fully aware of the power of the Hiroshima atomic bomb, they did not express their intention to accept the Potsdam Proclamation for two consecutive days.
At a meeting of the Japanese Cabinet on the 9th of the same month, the hardliners led by Minister Yuki Anami insisted that victory in the war was still possible. They were looking forward to depleting the Allies through a decisive battle on their home soil, so as to gain more benefits in the negotiations.
Of course, Emperor Hirohito's attitude was also a crucial factor.
According to historical documents, although Hirohito was saddened by the harm caused to civilians by the atomic bomb, during the meeting, when he explained the reasons for the surrender to his ministers, he did not directly mention the atomic bomb, but repeatedly emphasized that the country and the people were in dire straits, and that he could not bear to see the people suffer.
In his speech to the emperor, Hirohito did not seem to be aware of the threat of the atomic bomb, as surrender began only six days after the second atomic bomb was dropped, which could mean that Japan could face a greater risk of a nuclear strike.
After these six days of observation, it is clear that the final factors that led to Japan's collapse have emerged. In the summer of 1945, Germany had been forced to surrender, Japan was losing in the Pacific theater, and at the same time facing the joint efforts of our army and the Kuomintang army on the Chinese battlefield, the situation was quite difficult.
Japan has built numerous military installations in northeastern China, but the land remains intact in Japanese hands, across the river from the Soviet Union, which has maintained peace since the Battle of Nomenkan.
The Japanese pinned their last hope on the Soviet Union, which, according to the assumptions of Japanese diplomats, would become the two main powers of the world after the end of World War II, and their rivalry would become the main theme of the world after World War II.
At the same time, the Northeast region has abundant heavy industrial resources, which is enough to compete with the United States. If local resources become scarce, Japan will shift its focus to Northeast Korea, which has been in business for many years.
By the end of World War II, factories in Tohoku had produced an astonishing 1.5 million tons, and its industrial and agricultural output even exceeded that of Japan, with a wide range of industrial sectors.
However, although Japan actively engaged in diplomatic communication with the Soviet Union in an attempt to use the Soviet Union to confront the Allied forces, because the territorial division between the United States and the Soviet Union in the Far East had long been determined, Japan became a thorn in Stalin's side.
Since the Soviet Union had just finished its war against Germany, it would take time to transport troops and supplies, so Stalin temporarily adopted a delaying strategy, and negotiations with Japan were only to consume time, and in the end the talks between the two sides failed to achieve results.
On 7 August, the Soviets agreed to meet with the Japanese ambassador, but when the Japanese ambassador informed the Soviets of the plan, the Soviets immediately announced a bolt from the blue, dashing the hopes of the Japanese.
Over the next few days, the Soviet army swept deep into enemy territory like an autumn wind sweeping away leaves, destroying the fortifications of the Tohoku fortress that the Japanese had painstakingly built for more than a decade.
At this time, Japan's plan to hold on to the northeast was completely shattered, and neither the north nor the south could withstand a two-sided attack, so it was only a matter of time before all the land was lost.
More importantly, it would be less likely that Japan under Soviet occupation would have been able to maintain its original system than it had been under capitalist American occupation, and the fear of socialism eventually led these fascists to surrender before the Soviet occupation of the Soviet homeland.
This was also proven by the fact that the Americans spared Hirohito after the war and allowed him to continue to maintain the emperor system, preserving some face for Japan.
In his later years, Hirohito said that the destruction of Japan by the atomic bomb was more like a large-scale air raid with no hope of completely destroying Japan. What really made Japan give up resistance was the declaration of war by the Soviet Union and the military action of the Red Army.
Although there were still some young people who wanted to keep fighting, on the night of August 14 of the same year, Hirohito recorded the final battle at the Imperial Palace. The first time he didn't read it very well, he recorded it a second time, but he still didn't feel satisfied, and was about to record it a third time, but the guards around him couldn't wait anymore and took the tape away.
The next day, some young men near the palace planned to stage a mutiny and seize the tapes, but after being dissuaded by the chief of the guard, they put down **.
In the final moments of Japan's surrender, the entry of the Soviet Union into the war became a key factor.
The arrogance of the Japanese fascist invaders during World War II was unimaginable, and it was absolutely impossible for them to accept unconditional surrender so easily. Although the atomic bomb played a certain role in the war at that time, its power cannot be overstated.