Why is unconditional surrender important

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Richard Samuels. Debate raged within the Japanese government over whether to accept the American terms or fight on. Meanwhile, American leaders were growing impatient, and on August 13 conventional air raids resumed on Japan.

Thousands more Japanese civilians died while their leaders delayed. The Japanese people learned of the surrender negotiations for the first time when, on August 14, Bs showered Tokyo with thousands of leaflets containing translated copies of the American reply of August Later that day, the emperor called another meeting of his cabinet and instructed them to accept the Allied terms immediately, explaining "I cannot endure the thought of letting my people suffer any longer"; if the war did not end "the whole nation would be reduced to ashes.

The only question remaining now was if Japan's military leaders would allow the emperor to surrender. Loyalty to the emperor was an absolute in the Japanese military, but so was the refusal to surrender, and now that the two had come into conflict, open rebellion was a possible result. The emperor recorded a message in which he personally accepted the Allied surrender terms, to be broadcast over Japanese radio the following day. This way everyone in Japan would know that surrender was the emperor's personal will.

Some within the Japanese military actually attempted to steal this recording before it could be broadcast, while others attempted a more general military coup in order to seize power and continue the war. Other elements of the Japanese military remained loyal to the emperor. The Minister of War, General Anami Korechika, personally supported continuing the war, but he also could not bring himself to openly rebel against his emperor. The strength of his dilemma was such that he opted for suicide as the only honorable way out.

In the end, his refusal to assist the coup plotters was instrumental in their defeat by elements within the military that remained loyal to the emperor. On August 15, , the emperor's broadcast announcing Japan's surrender was heard via radio all over Japan. For most of his subjects, it was the first time that they had ever heard his voice.

The emperor explained that "the war situation has developed not necessarily to Japan's advantage," and that "the enemy has begun to employ a new and most cruel bomb. There are currently no details being released about the strategy that the Allies will take. Prior to the Casablanca Conference, the United Nations had no structured plan. It was an entirely opportunistic strategy of war. This is not to say that there were absolutely no war plans.

Those war plans have been revised and improved as time went on. In addition, there is no question that each detail was thoroughly discussed and worked out, including a possible landing on the coast of Norway or an air raid on Japan. Hanson, Baldwin. Your email address will not be published.

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