Brandt Schafer
Applied Ethics
Dr. Donahue
1 October 2013
Atomic Bomb Questions
1. The pro of letting the Japanese know before dropping the atomic bombs that they
could keep a ceremonial emperor was that their civilians would protect their emperor at
all costs, seeing it as their cultural duty. If they fought under the notion that their
emperor would never be harmed, it defeated the purpose of dying in his name. The
cons of letting them know were that they might use every resort to ensure that their
emperor would reign victorious, even if everyone in Japan died except for him. Either
way, the notion that appeared to fight Japan to the death would buy the United States
enough time to finish the atomic bomb and avoid its own last resort (Mullins).
2. The pro of waiting for the Russians to enter the Pacific War before dropping the
atomic bombs was obviously the strength in numbers and sheer military power: under
no circumstances could Japan defeat the Soviet Union or the United States, let alone
both of them. They would surrender instantly. The con of waiting for the Russians was
the fear that they would settle in Japan just as they did and might have otherwise in
other European and Asian nations. It would have had unacceptable post-war
consequences because the United States would have even more opposing forces and
fewer allies in the Cold War (Lewis). The decision to use the bomb before the Russians
invaded essentially prevented their conflict from becoming “hot.”
3. It was arguably necessary to drop the second atomic bomb on Nagasaki because the
Japanese may not have surrendered otherwise, and the Russians would have arrived
merely a week later. It also provided scientists with data upon which radioactive
element was more powerful: uranium or plutonium. The plutonium-based bomb, “Fat
Man,” which Bock’s Car dropped on Nagasaki, had a larger field of detonation than the
uranium-based bomb “Little Boy” that Enola Gay dropped on Hiroshima, but because of
the geography and architecture of the city, resulted in fewer deaths and lesser property
damage (“The Bombing of Nagasaki”). A cold joke could be that the scientists wanted
to complete their hypothesis.
4. The mainland invasion, known as Operation Downfall, consisted of two phases. The
first phase would begin on December 1st, 1945, and assault southern Kyushu. The
second phase would assault Honshu on March 1st, 1946, exactly three months apart
(MacArthur 395). The atomic bombs were dropped on August 6th, at 8:15 AM, above
Hiroshima, and on August 9th, 1945, at 11:02 AM, above Nagasaki (“Introduction”).
Delaying the dropping of the atomic bombs a few months would not have been a good
idea, as the Soviet mainland invasion would take place even if they chose not to enter a
week before they promised. Once again, the Japanese would surrender due to the
massive opposing force, but the Cold War would become an even greater issue. The
Japanese would be provided with the opportunity to kill thousands of American
prisoners of war being held in Japan, because every second provided them with the
opportunity to kill, torture and rape the prisoners, even innocent bystanders as seen in
the Battle of Manila, also known as the Rape of Manila, in the same vein as the Rape of
Nanking seven years beforehand (Kielley).
5. You would have to know before dropping such powerful weapons not only the
present effects it will cause, such as thousands of deaths, millions of dollars of property
damage, and severance of families, but also its future effects. Those who survived the
bombs, colloquially known as “hibakusha,” received great discrimination from their
peers. They were physically deformed, and as a result may have been fired from their
jobs or harassed in public, in fear that their conditions were contagious. Hibakusha were
also shunned in marriage, due to anxiety that their conditions were hereditary, or would
die soon afterwards and not be able to provide for their spouse and children. The
bombs impaired civilians who were not even part of the war for the rest of their lives
simply because they resided on the islands of Japan (Gensuikin).
6. Enola Gay dropped “Little Boy” successfully hitting its original target of Hiroshima.
However, Nagasaki was a secondary target: Bock’s Car was originally aiming to hit
Kokura with “Fat Man,” but could not find the town in the incredibly cloudy weather.
Major Sweeny then realized that there was only enough fuel to return to Okinawa, so he
directed his plane to Nagasaki (“The Bombing of Nagasaki”).
7. The dropping of the atomic bombs was an indiscriminate attack. Chapter 3 Rule 12
of international humanitarian law states that the three qualities that define an
indiscriminate attack are “(a)…not directed at a specific military objective;
(b)…a…means of combat which cannot be directed at a specific military objective; …(c)
…means of combat the effects of which cannot be limited” (International Committee of
the Red Cross). Hiroshima and Nagasaki were not specific military objectives, and the
atomic bomb was certainly not a weapon whose creators limited its power.
Interestingly, people do not hesitate to admit that the terrorist attacks that occurred on
September 11th, 2001, were indiscriminate attacks, despite occurring in a larger city
(New York is the size of Tokyo, Hiroshima is the size of New Orleans, and Nagasaki is
the size of Aurora, Colorado). Nevertheless, all of these attacks occurred in non-military
objective cities.
8. The dropping of the atomic bombs was not a last resort because it persuaded the
Japanese to surrender prior to a mainland invasion, which would take not only
thousands of Japanese lives, but also thousands of American lives (MacArthur 430).
Such an invasion was the true last resort. America provided the Japanese many
opportunities to surrender and project their remaining citizens. However, their own
philosophy, “honorable death before surrender” lead to hundreds of thousands of
instances of the former before the latter, until their best interest finally caved in
(Gensuikin).
9. The dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki is statistically justified,
as it prevented the deaths of thousands of both Americans and Japanese who would
not be alive today otherwise. It was also politically justified, given the fact that it
prevented the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union from becoming
any worse with the possible inclusion of Japan as a rival. On the other hand, it was not
morally justified to drop the atomic bombs, as a mere demonstration of its power may
have persuaded the Japanese. However, both Secretary of War Henry Stimson and
President Henry Truman denied this proposal, believing that this was unlikely: Japan
already knew of the United States arsenal beforehand, so viewing the weapon from afar
would not leave an impact (Glover 95-96). Furthermore, war by definition is unmoral, so
to the military forces of America, it was a matter of ending what was already started:
displaying the power of the bomb would prevent more deaths and destruction as seen in
the Cold War.
In the history of nuclear warfare, Japan is the only nation to receive any attack,
let alone multiple. While the United States has tested over 1,100 bombs and
Russia/U.S.S.R. over 900, Japan has tested absolutely zero (Rankin). This due to their
three non-nuclear principles, established in 1974 by their government, stating that “we
shall not manufacture nuclear weapons…possess them…and…not bring them into our
country” (Sato). Perhaps these principles serve as evidence that any nation who falls
victim to the atomic bomb will never want to associate with it ever again.
Works Cited
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Yale University Press, 2012. Print.
International Committee of the Red Cross. Customary International Humanitarian Law
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Kielley, Lindsay. “Japanese Actions: Treatment of Prisoners of War.” Bernardsville,
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