Despite months of intense U.S. bombing raids against Japanese targets, the Japanese government refused to surrender. Japan suffered significant destruction as a result of U.S. firebombing and napalm raids. The U.S. firebombing campaign in Japan destroyed 180 square miles of 67 cities, killed more than 300,000 people, and injured an additional 400,000.
While most raids targeted military installations—such as docks, shipyards, and fuel depots—the raid on Tokyo in March 1945 represented a marked shift. The mission of the B-29s was to destroy the city, kill its citizens, force survivors to flee, and instill terror in survivors. The firebombing of Tokyo created a firestorm: an extended fire that swept over 15 square miles in six hours and resulted in an area that was nearly 100 percent burned; no structure or its contents escaped damage. The survey concluded that “probably more persons lost their lives by fire at Tokyo in a six-hour period than at any time in the history of man. . . . The largest number of victims were the most vulnerable: women, children, and the elderly.” Still, the Japanese government did not surrender.
Do you think that Japan’s refusal to surrender after the bombing of Tokyo justified Truman’s use of the atomic bomb? Explain your answer below.