Japanese Culture
The Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor came as a profound shock to American people which led directly to the entry of Americans into the World War second in both the pacific and European theaters. In the following day of December 8th United States of America declared war on Japan. There as domestic support for isolationism, this was strong and it disappeared. Clandestine support by the British was also replaced by the active alliance (Goldstein and Dillion, 22). Some of the U.S subsequent operations prompted the Germans and Italians to also declare war on U.S the same day despite the numerous historical precedents for the un-announced military action on U.S. Also there was a lack of formal warning by Japan to the Americans for the negotiations were still going on.
Due to the Japan’s domineering the Northern French Indochina, the U.S restricted commerce or exports of steel, scrap, iron, and aviation fuel to Japan on September 1940. On April the same year, the Japanese had to sign a treaty with the Soviet Union if they had to go war with Britain or the U.S in order to avoid such kind of attack from the Americans. Then Japan took over southern Indochina on June the same year. This followed up with the U.S, Britain. Netherlands freezing their assets which made it difficult for the Japanese to buy oil that was the determining factor in its war since they had to use the oil for army hence making its air force completely dysfunctional. As a result the Japanese tried to take the oil resources of Southeast Asia towards the end of 1941.The U.S tried to stop the Japanese action but the Americans were not on the verge of going to war to make a halt of the Japanese action. Hence the U.S placed a command to the Japanese to let go china and Indochina but that would come after a withdrawal and a promise of not taking more than their territory.
Japanese settled for two courses: one to get the oil embargo that was earlier on placed by the Americans or to prepare for a war that was before December in 1941. General Tojo Hideki who became Japan’s premier in mid-October set November 29 as the final date which the Japanese would accept the settlement without any war. Also, The Japanese invented a war plan from the new ideas and principles and they hence came up with the idea of attacking Burma, Malaya. East indies and the Philippines and a defensive perimeter in central and southwest pacific.tey knew that the Americans would declare war but they clearly understood that they will not be patient in fighting against them for quite a long period .what they was mainly in their concern is that the U.S pacific fleet based in pearl harbor could confuse their plans (Goldstein and Dillion, 34). Hence the Japanese navy undertook to attack the pacific fleet by a surprise air attack.
The warning had been sent to Washington but it reached too late .The U.S broke the Japanese diplomatic code and knew that there would be an attack but the warning arrived too late. This was possible due to the new technology they had devised about the radar which was able to spot the Japanese planes but they took it that it was a flight of American B-17Sdue in from the west coast. According to the eye witnesses, Joseph P McDonald, on the 7th December 1941, who was an army officer stationed at the information center Ft. Shafter Hawaii. At 4 AM, on December the plotters managed to enter the information center. They headed for breakfast and left the information center at 7am.Joseph McDonald orders were scheduled until 6am.It was a Sunday and he therefore stayed on duty for a longer time than his normal hours until his replacement. All he knew was that he was in the center with no one else.
He answered as phone shortly after his breakfast time and the northern radar station was on the other receiving end. The voice reprimanded to know whether there were any plotters around and he answered there was none. The voice told him that there were many plane from the north 3 points e therefore reported to the Lieutenant about the sudden news who was not shocked neither concerned about the news. McDonald called back the northern radar stationed and told them about the lieutenant lack of concern but the voice was still very excited telling him about the large numbers of the planes.
McDonald reported to the lieutenant but he told him that that might just be a flight from the states. McDonald asked whether he should get back to the plotters o r the wheeler field but the lieutenant told him that he should not take it serious. He knew that this issue was very serious but he just could not go against the lieutenant. His replacement occurred around 7:45am and he left tired after working for 14 full hours though the communication from Opana did not give him peace of mind. He thought of calling the wheeler field from the orderly tent (Goldstein and Dillion, 47).
Finally sound of the planes which could now be seen from a distant from their tent. They were so many and they were in the order of follow the leader in a single file. Suddenly they heard a loud roar which was followed subsequently with a dark smoke and explosions. McDonald and Schimmel went to take a clear view on top of the mess and they could see planes diving on the Pearl Harbor and Hickam field and the explosions got worse and worse and people ran in different directions confused about the whole scenario. That was my McDonalds longest day. He continued in the central Pacific hopping on a number of islands as the military headed for Japan. He did not talk a lot about Pearl Harbor publicly. He always questioned how many lives might have been saved if the radar warning was heeded.
The attack on Pearl Harbor basically occurred on December 7, 1941.It happened on a Sunday morning when the Japanese bombed the American naval base at the Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. This attack made America change its opinion on the war and on December 8 the nation gathered to get what the president had to say about the war and on that very day they declared war on Japan and o0n the 11th of the same month the congress declared war on Germany (Goldstein and Dillion, 98). These events made it possible for the Americans to rise up to a strong war element and an economic powerful nation that is currently the USA. Many Americans were killed and others wounded in the war that lasted two long hours. The victims of the war were approximately over 3500 Americans. They had approximately 350 aircrafts destroyed or damaged and 8 battleships were sunk or badly damaged that is inclusive of the U.S.S. Arizona though the carriers remained wholly uninjured.
Dropping a Bomb Over Nagasaki
In the course of the Pacific campaigns of the Second World War, the United States Air Forces carried out a deadly attack in Tokyo, often referred to as the firebombing. The U.S. launched a small-scale attack on Tokyo in early 1942, which had massive driving impacts. During the ultimate phase of this war in 1945, the U.S carried out double atomic bombings on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, on August 6th and 9th, 1945 respectively, events that shook the entire world as the sole active operation of nuclear weapons in any war to date. Questions can be raised on why and how the U.S intensively fire-bombed these cities of Japan. However, an understanding of the events that led to a six month intensive bombing can aid in finding answers to such questions. This study discusses the events, process and the aftermath effects of bombing in Nagasaki.
The city had been one of the prime sea ports in southern parts of Japan considered to be of immense wartime significance due to its extensive industrial activities, including the production of armaments, ships and military equipment as well as other war materials. Several minor industries and business assets were made of wood and weak materials that could not withstand massive explosions. Nagasaki had been allowed to develop for many years amid no conformity to a clear-cut city zoning plan. In fact, residential buildings were set up adjacent to factories and close to each other throughout the entire industrial valley setting. The northern part of Nagasaki had a camp detaining British Commonwealth war prisoners, some working in the coal mines.
Nagasaki had not been subjected to major bombing previously, however, a few conventional explosives had been dropped on the city before hitting the shipyards and dock region, the Mitsubishi Steel and Arms Works, and the Nagasaki Medical School and Hospital just but a few. Notably, these explosives had relatively minimal damages but concern over the security and safety of the city had been raised leading to evacuation of people especially the school going children in to rural areas. This meant reduction in population of the entire city at the onset of the nuclear attack.
The 9th of August, 1945 remains an ordeal to residents of Nagasaki, Japan and the entire world as it fell a victim of the deadliest ever nuclear weapon deployment. Nagasaki was the second target of the second blast of a plutonium bomb attack codenamed “The Fat Man”; by the U.S army Air forces. During this event, the northern part of the city was smashed and a projected 40,000 people lost their lives. The U.S. B-29 Super fortress Bockscar, under Squadron commander Major C. W. Sweeney, “launched the fat man,” a mission plan virtually identical to that of Hiroshima two days earlier. The two B-29s were flying an hour earlier to the schedule of the weather scouts accompanied by two additional B-29s in Sweeney's getaway for instrumentation as well as record photographic evidence of the entire mission. Observers on board of the weather planes declared the target clear. The Bockscar and the instrumentation plane whirled in air for a projected 40 minutes without locating Hopkins who was in the third plane intended to make the rendezvous.
Fearing to be behind schedule, Sweeney decided to take off without Hopkins. By the time the crew reached Kokura a, almost 70% cloud cover had covered the city, barring the visual attack as per the set orders. Events unfolded. Three runs around the city and the fuel running low, the Navy Commander F. Ashworth aboard resolved that the radar would then be used since the target was obscured and a diversion to Okinawa would not be possible due to fuel. Initially, an alert alarm was sounded but then cleared off with an assumption that the planes could be on a reconnaissance.
Before the attack, an unsigned letter was dropped attached to three parachutes addressed to a nuclear physicist at the University of Tokyo urging him to inform the public on the dangers associated with the weapons they were carrying. At aronund11:01 local time, the ""Fat Man"" bludgeon, containing a plutonium-239 core descended over the city’s industrial valley exploding seconds later halfway between the Mitsubishi Steel on one side and the Arms Works. This was approximately 3 kilometers northwest of the intended hypocenter. The blast was cramped within the Urakami Valley and a key section of the Nagasaki was sheltered by the superseding hills. The blast yield of the resultant explosion generated heat projected to be 3,900 degrees Celsius.
Immediate casualty deaths were estimated to range between 40,000 to 75,000 people with staggering total deaths by the end of the year1945 projected at 80,000. The blast covered a radius of total destruction to up to a mile. Consequently, fires across the northern section of the city were widespread covering about two miles. Some survivors of the Hiroshima bombing had made their way to Nagasaki to take cover but were ones again bombed. These events led to Japanese government announcing its surrender to the allied powers just within six days. The government ended up signing the Instrument of Surrender on 2nd of September the same year. This officially marked the end of Pacific War hence the World War II came to an end. Initially, Germany had put to paper its Instrument of Surrender which had prompted the end of the war in Europe. Furthermore, this bombing triggered to some extend the post-war Japan's plans of adopting the “Non-Nuclear Principles”, forbidding the state from nuclear armament programs.
In addition, during the first four months after the strike, acute effects of the explosion consumed human life, with almost half of the deaths reported on the first day. Besides, at the explosion moment, energy was released in form of light, heat and radiation as well as pressure. The light rays as well as radiant that accompanied were so intense that they could root third degree burns to human body. Also, telephone poles charred and most thatched caught fire. However, the Japan’s legislative structure was in practice to end the war ones. In fact, an agreement was reached leading to the signing of the instrument of surrender.
However, the Japan’s legislative structure was in practice to end the war ones. In fact, an agreement was reached leading to the signing of the instrument of surrender. People who were affected by the effects of the bombing are identified as nij%u016B hibakusha in Japan. Important to note also is that on March 24, 2009; the government of Japan formally recognized Tsutomu Yamaguchi who lived between 1916–2010 as a binary hibakusha. He was found to be 3kilometers off the ground during the detonation. When the fat man was struck however, he had just stayed a day at Nagasaki as a survivor of Hiroshima; recognized for surviving both bombings
In conclusion, the Nagasaki bombing can be seen to have had far reaching effects ranging from loss of human life, property damage, economic meltdown, social restructuring just but a few. Though known to have been an American initiative, it can be concluded that the attack was revenge. Though questions can be raised on whether the U.S was justified to respond to Japanese attacks the way they responded or just whether that was the best option.