A number of factors contributed to the
United States’ decision to drop atomic bombs on
Japan. One reason was Japan’s unwillingness to surrender unconditionally. Japan wanted to keep their emperor and conduct their own war trials and did not want to be occupied by U.S. forces. However, the United States wanted unconditional surrender, which thus meant the continuation of the war. Japan refused to surrender after multiple firebombing campaigns such as the
Bombing of Tokyo on March 9–10, 1945. The Bombing of Tokyo alone claimed tens of thousands of lives and is often cited as one of the most destructive acts of war in history. Although the precise death toll is unknown, conservative estimates suggest that the firestorm caused by incendiary bombs killed at least 80,000 people, likely more than 100,000, in a single night; some one million people were left homeless. It looked increasingly likely that the United States would have to commit itself to a land invasion, which could have claimed many American lives. Instead, the atomic bomb served as a tool to bring the war in the Pacific to a close sooner.