Nagasaki bombing: Remembering - and starting to forget - its legacy
Today marks the 68th anniversary of the dropping of an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Nagasaki. The bomb, named 鈥淔at Man,鈥� was the first plutonium bomb ever聽to be deployed, and followed the Aug. 6 dropping of the uranium bomb 鈥淟ittle Boy鈥� on Hiroshima.
But even after 68 years, both the history of nuclear weapons and their future are still the subject of debate.聽
Speaking at the memorial ceremony in Nagasaki, Mayor Tomihisa Taue publicly condemned Japan鈥檚 government for failing to push nuclear disarmament. Mr. Taue spoke out against the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe 鈥� who was present 鈥� for failing to sign a UN disarmament agreement in April, according to the Japan Daily Press. Taue said the refusal to sign meant Japan was 鈥�.鈥�
The nonproliferation agreement 鈥� which asks that the signatories pledge to never use a nuclear weapon 鈥� was meant to be largely symbolic, as none of the signatories has a nuclear arsenal. Japan ,聽and its prior agreement to allow the US to use Japan as a launching ground in the event of a threat from North Korea, reports The Washington Post.
Japan does not have nuclear weapons and has pledged not to produce any, although some hawkish members of the ruling party say the country should consider a nuclear option.
Taue said that as the world鈥檚 only victim of atomic bombings, Japan鈥檚 refusal to join the initiative contradicts its non-nuclear pledge.
The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki resulted in the deaths of more than 200,000 people, and while some argue that they helped end the war, many today regarding it as a stain on the US's moral history.
In a piece for the Huffington Post, Greg Mitchell, a writer and blogger for the Nation, :
After all, by this time, Truman (as recorded in his diary and by others) was well aware that the Japanese were hopelessly defeated and seeking terms of surrender--and he had, just two weeks earlier, written "Fini Japs" in his diary when he learned that the Russians would indeed attack around August 7. Yet Truman, on this day, did nothing, and the second bomb rolled out, and would be used against Nagasaki, killing perhaps 90,000 more, only a couple hundred of them Japanese troops, on August 9. That's why many who reluctantly support or at least are divided about the use of the bomb against Hiroshima consider Nagasaki a war crime--in fact, the worst one-day war crime in human history.
According to a separate report from the Japan Daily Press, American film director Oliver Stone, who currently is visiting Hiroshima and Nagasaki and whose films about key historical events have attracted their share of controversy,聽.
鈥淚f the Nazis had dropped the bomb, they鈥檇 lost the war, the bomb would be seen as a monstrosity, and the Nazis would be condemned forever,鈥� Mr. Stone was quoted as saying.
Dissent over the use of the bomb is not new.聽Albert Einstein 鈥� whose work led to its development and who wrote a letter to then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt urging him to pursue the project 鈥� eventually came to deeply regret the bombings. "Had I known that the Germans would not succeed in producing an atomic bomb, ,鈥� he said, according to the Atlantic.
However, at the time, the bombs were seen as necessary by many Americans. After all, the atomic bombs had brought a brutal war to an end, and many thought their use possibly saved more lives that would have been lost had it continued. As , wrote in Harper's in 1947:
Two鈥� great 鈥﹏ations 鈥﹚ere 鈥゛pproaching 鈥ヽontact 鈥﹊n 鈥゛ 鈥ゝight鈥� to鈥� a鈥� finish鈥� which鈥� would 鈥゜egin 鈥﹐n 鈥㎞ovember鈥� 1,鈥� 1945.鈥� Our鈥� enemy,鈥� Japan,鈥� commanded鈥� forces鈥� of鈥� somewhat鈥� over鈥� 5,000,000鈥� men.鈥� Men 鈥﹐f 鈥﹖hese鈥� armies 鈥﹉ad 鈥゛lready 鈥﹊nflicted 鈥﹗pon 鈥﹗s, 鈥﹊n 鈥﹐ur 鈥゜reakthrough 鈥﹐f 鈥﹖he 鈥﹐uter 鈥﹑erimeter 鈥﹐f 鈥﹖heir 鈥ヾefenses, 鈥﹐ver 鈥�300,000鈥� battle鈥� casualties.鈥� Enemy 鈥゛rmies 鈥﹕till 鈥﹗nbeaten 鈥﹉ad 鈥﹖he 鈥﹕trength 鈥﹖o鈥� cost 鈥﹗s 鈥゛ 鈥﹎illion 鈥﹎ore. 鈥〢s 鈥﹍ong 鈥゛s 鈥﹖he 鈥㎎apanese 鈥ゞovernment 鈥﹔efused 鈥﹖o 鈥﹕urrender, 鈥﹚e鈥� should鈥� be 鈥ゝorced鈥� to 鈥﹖ake鈥� and鈥� hold 鈥﹖he 鈥ゞround, 鈥゛nd 鈥﹕mash 鈥﹖he 鈥㎎apanese 鈥ゞround 鈥゛rmies, 鈥゜y鈥� close鈥慽n鈥ゝighting鈥� of鈥� the 鈥﹕ame鈥� desperate鈥� and 鈥ヽostly 鈥﹌ind鈥� that 鈥﹚e 鈥﹉ad鈥� faced鈥� in鈥� the 鈥㏄acific 鈥﹊slands鈥� for 鈥﹏early鈥� four 鈥﹜ears.
...My 鈥ヽhief 鈥﹑urpose 鈥﹚as鈥� to 鈥〆nd鈥� the 鈥﹚ar 鈥﹊n 鈥﹙ictory 鈥﹚ith 鈥﹖he鈥� least 鈥﹑ossible 鈥ヽost 鈥﹊n 鈥﹖he鈥� lives 鈥﹐f 鈥﹖he 鈥﹎en 鈥﹊n 鈥﹖he 鈥゛rmies 鈥﹚hich 鈥㊣ 鈥﹉ad 鈥﹉elped鈥� to鈥� raise. 鈥㊣n 鈥﹖he 鈥﹍ight 鈥﹐f 鈥﹖he 鈥゛lternatives 鈥﹚hich,鈥� on 鈥゛ 鈥ゝair 鈥〆stimate,鈥� were鈥� open鈥� to鈥� us鈥� I鈥� believe鈥� that鈥� no鈥� man鈥� in鈥� our鈥� position鈥� and鈥� subject鈥� to鈥� our鈥� responsibilities,鈥� holding鈥� in鈥� his鈥� hands鈥� a鈥� weapon鈥� of鈥� such鈥� possibilities鈥� for鈥� accomplishing鈥� this 鈥﹑urpose鈥� and鈥� saving鈥� those鈥� lives,鈥� could鈥� have鈥� failed鈥� to鈥� use鈥� it鈥� and鈥� afterwards鈥� looked鈥� his鈥� country men 鈥﹊n 鈥﹖he鈥� face.
He continued by noting that, in his opinion, the use of the atomic bombs was "the least abhorrent choice," as it put to an end the fire bombings 鈥� which caused massive casualties 鈥� of Japanese cities, and would cause fewer casualties in Japan than a ground invasion.
As time went on, however, many scholars and public figures began to question whether or not the bombs were necessary to end the war, and whether that rationale was worth the devastating toll the bombs took on civilian lives. In an interview with Education About Asia, MIT historian John Dower, who wrote the Pulitzer Prize-winning book "Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II," challenged that line of thinking and of targeting civilians in wartime:
As the history of Hiroshima and Nagasaki recedes further into the past, it is becoming more difficult to create a sense of urgency around these questions. 聽about the documentary "Things Left Behind," about a major art exhibit devoted to Hiroshima, Roland Kelts, the author of "Japanamerica," says that "...聽sixty-eight years later, the story of Hiroshima, its possible meanings and emotions, are fast becoming dead artifacts,聽especially in Japan, where the platitudes and memorials are broadcast live once every year, dominating the airwaves with about as much salient impact as the Macy鈥檚 Thanksgiving Day Parade."
