World
Defeat and a New Day
After its surrender 80 years ago, Japan developed into a democratic powerhouse and staunch U.S. ally.
A BY JAMES C. ROBERTS
s the sun rose over Japan’s Tokyo Bay Sept. 2, 1945, an astonishing scene came into view.
More than 200 U.S. and Allied war-
ships of all types crowded the bay, put in place as a show of force for the cer- emony in which Japanese government offi cials would sign the surrender doc- ument ending World War II. The setting was fi lled with sym-
bolism: the battleship USS Missouri, named after President Harry Tru- man’s home state and a ship chris- tened by the president’s daughter, Margaret. At a little before 9 a.m. the Japa-
nese delegation boarded the Missouri, headed by Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu, wearing top hat and tails, and Gen. Yoshijiro Umezu, represent- ing the Japanese General Staff Offi ce. Both signed the document confi rm-
ing Japan’s unconditional surrender. Signing for the United States were Supreme Allied Commander Gen. Douglas MacArthur and Fleet Admi- ral Chester Nimitz. Representatives of eight Allied nations also signed the document. More than 400 U.S. carrier-based
aircraft then fl ew over the scene as a show of force.
Outside Tokyo Bay were two enor-
mous fl eets of more than 1,000 Allied ships spread over tens of miles, sta- tioned as a precaution in case the Japa- nese reneged at the last moment. The Japanese surrender represent-
ed the success of a bold gamble by Tru- man. On Aug. 6, 1945, Truman ordered the dropping of an atomic bomb, nick- named “Little Boy,” on Hiroshima. Three days later another atom-
ic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. Together, the two bombs caused an estimated 150,000 to 245,000 deaths and obliterated the two cities. Truman’s gamble was that destruc-
tion of such magnitude would shock the Japanese into surrendering, which indeed is what happened. Emperor Hirohito interceded with
his divided cabinet and declared that Japan would surrender. He then announced this decision to the Japa- nese people in the fi rst radio address he had ever made. The Japanese surrender capped
three and a half years of brutal warfare over the vast expanse of the Pacifi c, where U.S. forces executed amphibi- ous landings on a string of islands, including Peleliu, Tarawa, Kwajalein, Guam, and Guadalcanal. Each island had been defended by Japanese sol- diers who fought to the death, making
Historians are divided over the necessity of using the bomb, but virtually 100% of the U.S. invading force veterans believe Truman made the right call.
52 NEWSMAX | SEPTEMBER 2025
every landing a hellscape. To accomplish the mission of
invading and fi nally pacifying Japan, the U.S. and its allies were assembling the greatest armada in the history of warfare. It consisted of more than 2,000 ships, thousands of aircraft, and 2 million men. U.S. casualty estimates continued to increase, ending in a projected 500,000 to 1 million dead with three times as many wounded. The estimates of Japanese dead were between 5 and 10 million. Faced with this horrifi c Armaged-
don, Truman made what for him was a clear-cut decision — to use the atomic bomb. Historians are divided over the
necessity of using the bomb, but virtu- ally 100% of the U.S. invading force veterans believe Truman made the right call. Japan was spared the catastrophe
of a fi rebombing campaign that would have destroyed all of its cities and an invasion that would have left 5 to 10 million dead and tens of millions injured, homeless, and starving. Mer- cifully, this fate was avoided. Instead, under the seven-year
regency of MacArthur, however, Japan developed into a successful democra- cy, an economic powerhouse, and a staunch ally of the United States in a region threatened by ever-increasing belligerence by Communist China.
James C. Roberts is executive chairman of the American Veterans Center.
SIGNING/THE ASAHI SHIMBUN VIA GETTY IMAGES / WOMAN/KEYSTONE-FRANCE/GAMMA-KEYSTONE VIA GETTY IMAGES
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