Why America Used Nuclear Weapon on Japan

On December 7, 1941, history reached a turning point that would change the world forever. A disaster was about to strike a naval base, and no one had any idea what was coming.

On one of the battleships, an African-American cook named Doris Miller was serving breakfast to Navy officers. After finishing his duties, he went to collect laundry. At exactly 7:57 in the morning, he heard a terrifying siren — the kind no serviceman ever wants to hear.

He rushed outside and was shocked to see the sky filled with Japanese bomber aircraft. Within moments, chaos erupted across the naval base as Japanese planes began destroying American ships one after another. The attack was happening at Attack on Pearl Harbor.

This raises several questions:

Why did Japan dare to attack a country as powerful as the United States?

Why was Doris Miller awarded one of America’s highest honors?

And why did America later launch nuclear attacks on Japan?

The story begins in 1941 during World War II. Although the war had already been going on for three years, the United States had remained neutral because it wanted to avoid another devastating conflict like World War I.

At that time:

Germany and Italy were on one side.

Britain, France, and the Netherlands were on the other.

Meanwhile, Japan was aggressively expanding across Asia because it lacked natural resources. It had already occupied Korea, Taiwan, and large parts of China. Japan also wanted control over the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia because of their valuable resources.

However:

Malaysia was controlled by Britain.

Indonesia belonged to the Netherlands.

The Philippines was an American territory.

The United States and its allies strongly opposed Japan’s expansion, especially because Japan was allied with Adolf Hitler.

In July 1941, America stopped supplying oil to Japan. This was a huge problem because Japan imported around 80% of its oil from the United States. America demanded that Japan withdraw from China before oil exports would resume.

Japan now faced a difficult choice:

Withdraw from China and appear weak.

Or continue expanding and risk war.

Japan secretly decided to seize Indonesia for its oil resources. But to reach Indonesia safely, Japan first needed to neutralize the American military presence in the Pacific — especially the naval base at Pearl Harbor.

Japanese military leaders planned a surprise attack to destroy the American Pacific Fleet before the U.S. could respond.

Japan prepared a massive attack force that included:

Battleships

Submarines

Destroyers

Aircraft carriers

Around 414 aircraft

The strike force secretly traveled about 8,000 kilometers across the Pacific Ocean while maintaining radio silence so America would not detect them.

On the morning of December 7, 1941, around 350 Japanese aircraft attacked Pearl Harbor in two waves.

The Americans were completely unprepared.

For more than an hour:

Battleships were bombed

Aircraft were destroyed on the ground

Fires and explosions covered the base

The attack devastated the harbor:

20 naval vessels were damaged or sunk

8 battleships were heavily hit

More than 300 aircraft were destroyed

During the attack, Doris Miller showed extraordinary bravery. After a torpedo struck his ship and many officers were wounded, he helped carry injured sailors to safety. Then, despite having no formal combat training, he operated an anti-aircraft machine gun and fired back at Japanese aircraft.

For his courage, Doris Miller became one of the first African Americans to receive the Navy Cross, one of the highest honors in the U.S. Navy.

The attack on Pearl Harbor changed everything.

Before the attack, America had stayed out of World War II. But the very next day, the United States declared war on Japan.

Four months later, in April 1942, America launched its first air raid on Tokyo, Japan’s capital. This marked the beginning of a long and brutal war between the two nations.

Over the next four years, the United States gradually gained the upper hand. Japan became weaker but still refused to surrender.

Finally, in August 1945, America used a devastating new weapon.

On August 6, 1945, an American Boeing B-29 Superfortress dropped an atomic bomb called Atomic bombing of Hiroshima over the Japanese city of Hiroshima.

About 43 seconds later, the bomb exploded.

The blast created:

An enormous fireball

Temperatures reaching thousands of degrees Celsius

Massive destruction across the city

Much of Hiroshima was destroyed instantly.

Three days later, on August 9, 1945, America dropped another atomic bomb — called “Fat Man” — on the city of Atomic bombing of Nagasaki.

These were the first and only nuclear weapons ever used in war against human populations.

The destruction shocked Japan’s leadership. Soon afterward, Japan surrendered, bringing World War II to an end.