
VOX POPULI: Truman never expressed regret for unleashing the A-bomb
On July 16, 1945, in the New Mexico desert, the United States conducted the first-ever detonation of a nuclear weapon.
With a blinding flash and a searing fireball, humanity entered a new era, having harnessed the terrifying destructive power of the atomic bomb.
The success of the test—code-named 'Trinity'—was quietly conveyed as good news to the leaders of the United States and Britain.
At the time, U.S. President Harry S. Truman and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill were in Germany for the Potsdam Conference, the final major meeting of Allied leaders during World War II.
Recalling how he was informed of the news in 'Triumph and Tragedy,' the final volume of his six-part history series 'The Second World War,' Churchill wrote that a senior U.S. official 'laid before me a sheet of paper on which was written, 'Babies satisfactorily born.''
Some scientists warned that using nuclear weapons would mean opening the door to an era of devastation on an unimaginable scale, and urged Truman to proceed with caution. But their appeals failed to sway Truman or other key decision-makers.
According to Churchill, the question of whether to use the atomic bomb to force Japan's surrender was never seriously debated.
'There was unanimous, automatic, unquestioned agreement around our table,' he wrote.
After the war, a U.S. docudrama about the production and use of the bomb asked Truman whether the decision had been morally difficult.
'Hell no, I made it like that,' Truman replied, snapping his fingers.
Just hearing those words is enough to make one tremble with anger.
Even 80 years later, the world remains under the shadow of nuclear terror.
According to estimates by Nagasaki University, the nine nuclear-armed nations now possess a combined total of 12,340 nuclear warheads.
Although the number had been declining since the end of the Cold War, it is once again on the rise.
In a nuclear war, there can be no winners.
Reflecting on the aftermath of total destruction, Albert Einstein once remarked: 'I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.'
—The Asahi Shimbun, July 16
* * *
Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Nikkei Asia
9 hours ago
- Nikkei Asia
Trump may travel to China to meet Xi in 'not-too-distant future'
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he may visit China soon for a landmark trip at a time of simmering trade and security tensions. "President Xi has invited me to China, and we'll probably be doing that in the not-too-distant future," Trump told reporters in the White House's Oval Office. "A little bit out, but not too distant. And I've been invited by a lot of people, and we'll make those decisions pretty soon." Reuters has reported that Trump and Xi's aides have discussed a potential meeting between the leaders during a trip by the U.S. president to Asia later this year, citing two people familiar with the plans. While plans for a meeting have not been finalized, discussions on both sides of the Pacific have included a possible Trump stopover around the time of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea or talks on the sidelines of the October 30-November 1 event, the people said. Another possible trip would be for a September 3 Beijing ceremony commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, which Russian President Vladimir Putin is planning to attend. The White House and the Chinese government had declined to comment on that earlier Reuters report. Trump made the comment about meeting Xi during a meeting with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., a key Pacific ally who Trump said he had successfully moved away from China, even as he said it was fine for the two countries to have relations. Trump has sought to lower tensions with Beijing in recent weeks after pausing a tit-for-tat tariff war that has upended global trade and supply chains. Trump has sought to impose tariffs on virtually all foreign goods, which he says will stimulate domestic manufacturing and which critics say will make many consumer goods more expensive for Americans. He has called for a universal base tariff rate of 10% on goods imported from all countries, with higher rates for imports from some, including China. Imports from China have the highest tariff rate of 55%. Trump has set a deadline of August 12 for the U.S. and China to reach a durable tariff agreement. Other points of friction between the countries include China's support for Russia, trade in fentanyl-related chemicals, regional security worries, and exit bans on some American residents.


The Mainichi
20 hours ago
- The Mainichi
60% of Japanese military deaths during WWII were from illness or starvation: PM Ishiba
TOKYO -- Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba mentioned on a July 20 radio program that 60% of Japanese military deaths during World War II were due to illness or starvation, after being asked about "historical revisionism" by another participant in the program. When asked about historical revisionism on a TBS Radio program, Ishiba replied, "I don't really know what it means to revise history." He went on to say, "Sixty percent of Japanese soldiers who died did not die in combat. We must consider that they died of illness or starvation. I believe that we must not forget to face the past squarely." The prime minister has shown enthusiasm for issuing his views on the 80th anniversary of the end of the war, and his aforementioned comments appeared to reflect the historical awareness that will form the basis of his opinion. In a Mainichi Shimbun interview on July 2, Ishiba said, "I want to consider, in my own way, why the last war unfolded as it did and the nature of civilian control." Ishiba was also asked about the massacre of Koreans during the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake, to which he replied, "We must always reflect on and examine why accurate information was not conveyed, and continue to seek answers." (Mainichi)


Asahi Shimbun
20 hours ago
- Asahi Shimbun
VOX POPULI: Study suggests xenophobia as the ‘default' is a conformity issue
Voters listen to a speech at Sanseito's street rally in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward on June 21. (Akari Sugiyama) While researching overseas cases of 'haigai shugi' (xenophobia), I realized that this word, which literally means 'exclusion of foreigners and foreign things,' can be substituted with other expressions in English. The strongest expression is 'hatred against foreigners' ('gaikokujin keno' in Japanese) but "anti-foreign sentiment" ("hangaikokujin kanjo") and 'contempt for immigrants' ('imin besshi') are also often used. There are fewer expressions that emphasize 'exclusion' ('haijo') or 'ostracization' ('haiseki'). Is there any Japanese word or phrase that explicitly conveys discriminatory thoughts? I wondered about that when I saw, in the July 20 Upper House election coverage, this comment by a supporter of the opposition Sanseito party: 'Since this is Japan, putting the Japanese people first is common sense, isn't it?' Obviously, this person has embraced the 'Japanese First' concept with total ease. Realizing that the wave of populism that's rising around the world has arrived in Japan, I felt down. And it also made me sense that something just doesn't add up. Compared to Europe and the United States, the number of foreigners Japan has let in is extremely small. And yet, the Japanese people are vociferously rejecting foreigners. Why? In 'Kashika Sareru Sabetsu' (Discrimination brought to visualization), author Akira Igarashi presents the results of a very interesting experiment. When Japanese test subjects were asked whether they supported or opposed restricting the number of foreign workers coming to Japan, their comments were more xenophobic if their answers could be seen by other people. This, according to Igarashi, is the opposite of what is normally the case in Europe and the United States, where test subjects tend to hide, out of guilt, their honest anti-foreigner feelings when their answers can be viewed by other people. Igarashi theorizes that there exists a 'standard' in Japanese society that creates the illusion that people must act xenophobically. They are made to believe that since xenophobes are a majority, they must conform. In the background, Igarashi explains, is Japan's greater tolerance toward xenophobic celebrities and politicians, who would be severely condemned in other countries. If a single xenophobic statement can spread by feeding on people's frustrations and anxieties, that is really alarming. Xenophobia is unmistakably the same thing as discrimination against foreigners. —The Asahi Shimbun, July 22 * * * Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.