In The Winning Weapon?: Rethinking Nuclear Weapons in Light of Hiroshima, author Ward Wilson attempts to make the argument that Japan did not surrender from WWII because of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. But rather that the invasion of the Soviet Union was the deciding factor in their withdraw. He then uses this argument to indicate that our views on nuclear weapons, and how they affected Japan’s military decisions is incorrect. Wilson begins his argument looking at the Japanese’s military and political standing prior to the bombing of Hiroshima. Prior to Hiroshima, the Japanese had determined that the only way that they would be able to mediate peace between them and the United States is if the Soviet Union was the one to do the mediating. Although Japan was aware that …show more content…
Throughout the summer of 1945, Japan had been subject to air raids that destroyed sixty-six cities, and over eight hundred casualties. The damage was almost equal from all of these areas to Hiroshima. So the idea of bombing on Japanese towns was already a common occurrence during this time. Looking at how familiar the Japanese were towards such violence, Wilson points out that it makes sense that the Japanese responded in such a delayed way. It took the Supreme Council of Japan three days to meet regarding the bombing of Hiroshima, while it took them less than six hours to meet following the Russian invasion. Making his final justification, the author points out the possibility that the Japanese used the bombing of Hiroshima as an excuse to withdraw from the war, instead of the Russian invasion. Wilson suggests that “The bomb offered a convenient explanation to soothe wounded Japanese pride: the defeat of Japan was not the result of leadership mistakes or lack of valor; it was the result of an unexpected advance in science by Japan’s