Why did Japan refuse to surrender for so long?

With defeat imminent, Japan’s leaders feared that without the imperial house, the state and their own power would be devalued and diminished in the eyes of the people, and that the state would ultimately disintegrate.

What would happen if Japan refused to surrender?

If Japan does not surrender, bombs will have to be dropped on her war industries and, unfortunately, thousands of civilian lives will be lost.

Did Japan accept unconditional surrender?

On August 10, 1945, just a day after the bombing of Nagasaki, Japan submits its acquiescence to the Potsdam Conference terms of unconditional surrender, as President Harry S.

Did most Japanese soldiers willingly surrender?

The number of Japanese soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen who surrendered was limited by the Japanese military indoctrinating its personnel to fight to the death, Allied combat personnel often being unwilling to take prisoners, and many Japanese soldiers believing that those who surrendered would be killed by their …

Would Japan surrendered without the atomic bomb?

However, the overwhelming historical evidence from American and Japanese archives indicates that Japan would have surrendered that August, even if atomic bombs had not been used — and documents prove that President Truman and his closest advisors knew it.

Would Japan have surrendered without atomic bomb?

Why was the USS Missouri chosen for the Japanese surrender?

So, why Missouri, a ship that had a respectable but not particularly distinguished war record? The quickest, and perhaps the most accurate, answer is that she was the flagship of the 3rd fleet, and that it made the most sense to have the surrender ceremony on the flagship.

Why did the Japanese treat the POWs so badly?

The reasons for the Japanese behaving as they did were complex. The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) indoctrinated its soldiers to believe that surrender was dishonourable. POWs were therefore thought to be unworthy of respect. The IJA also relied on physical punishment to discipline its own troops.

Why was the Air Force captain executed by the Japanese?

After the war, the finger of blame pointed to General Masaharu Homma, commander of the Japanese troops in the Philippines. Tried for war crimes, he was convicted and executed by a firing squad on April 3, 1946. Captain William Dyess was a fighter pilot stationed on Luzon when the Japanese invaded.

How many Japanese died in ww2 because of the atomic bomb?

Over the next two to four months, the effects of the atomic bombings killed between 90,000 and 146,000 people in Hiroshima and 39,000 and 80,000 people in Nagasaki; roughly half occurred on the first day….Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Date 6 and 9 August 1945
Location Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan
Result Allied victory