16-07-2025
VOX POPULI: Truman never expressed regret for unleashing the A-bomb
A stone monument stands at the Trinity Site where the first detonation of an atomic bomb was conducted in New Mexico on July 16, 1945. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
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
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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.
