Bombing Japan Persuasive Essay

Lately, there has been a lot of talk about Obama 's recent visit to Hiroshima, Japan. As the first acting United States President to visit ground zero, and a supporter of ending the use of nuclear weapons, many people were anticipating an apology from President Obama. Additionally, his visit to Japan had risen much controversy over whether bombing Japan needs an apology, and what an apology would say about our country. Although Obama did not issue an apology on his visit, there is still a debate about whether one should be issued in the future. The United States should not apologize for dropping an atomic bomb on Japan since dropping the bomb saved many civilians by avoiding the invasion of Japan. Also, Japan has never apologized for their own war crimes. Lastly, those questioning the wartime decision of 70 years ago did not feel the necessity to end the war, thus, all the speculation over the bombs is after thought. …show more content…
Before dropping the two bombs in Japan, there were many studies done throughout United Stated Military Officials to estimate the number of lives an invasion of Japan’s mainland would cost. A study was done in May and then another done in August of 1945 indicated that an invasion would cost a half a million American lives, along with a half million more Japanese lives (Kagan 20). Anyone can understand the fear these military leaders had of risking a half million of their own troops and citizens to a such a cause. Although calculations could not compare a number of casualties the bomb would leave versus the amount of casualties invading Japan would cost, a pretest for the atomic bomb, performed in Alamogordo, New Mexico, showed the effects of the atom bomb. It could not show the destruction a bomb of such power could inflict on an inhabited city, but those involved in the study could understand the big difference between destroying a city and destroying a