World War II officially ended in Asia on September 2, 1945, at 3:24 with thesurrender of Japan on theUSS Missouri. Before that, the United Statesdropped two atomic bombs on Japan, and theSoviet Union declared war on Japan, causing EmperorHirohito to announce the acceptance of thePotsdam Declaration on August 15, 1945, which would eventually lead to the surrender ceremony on September 2.
After the ceremony, Japanese forces continued to surrender across the Pacific, with the last major surrender occurring on October 25, 1945, with the surrender of Japanese forces in Taiwan toChiang Kai-shek. The Americanoccupation of Japan lasted from the end of the war until April 28, 1952, when theTreaty of San Francisco came into effect.
At theTehran Conference (November 28-December 1, 1943), the Soviet Union agreed to invade Japan "after the defeat of Germany", but this would not be finalized until theYalta Conference between February 4 and February 11, 1945, when the Soviet Union agreed to invade Japan within 2 or 3 months.[1][2] On April 5, 1945, the Soviet Union denounced theSoviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact that had been signed on April 13, 1941, as now the Soviet Union had plans for war with Japan.[3]
Japan's biggest allies in Europe began to surrender in 1945, with the last Italian troops surrender in the "Rendition of Caserta" on April 29, 1945,[4] and theGermans surrendering on May 8, 1945,[5] leaving Japan as the last major Axis power standing.
On July 17, 1945, thePotsdam Conference began. While mostly dealing with events in Europe after the Axis surrenders, the Allies also discussed the war against Japan,[6] leading to thePotsdam Declaration being issued on July 26, 1945, calling for the unconditional surrender of Japan, and "prompt and utter destruction" if Japan failed to surrender. Yet, the ultimatum also claimed that Japan would not "be enslaved as a race or destroyed as a nation".[7]
.jpg)
Some scholars believe Japan had begun to want to make peace with the Allies, as early as the spring of 1944. The unannounced aim of the Suzuki cabinet, which took office on April 7, 1945, may have been to secure peace.[8] Japan may have made attempts to stop the war, including sendingFumimaro Konoe to Moscow in an attempt to try to get the Soviet Union to make the Americans stop the war. However, the Soviet Union wanted to declare war on Japan before the Allies made peace.[8]
Japan responded to the Potsdam Declaration with a policy ofmokusatsu. Scholars debate if Japan “ignored” the Allies’ demand for Japan’s surrender,[9] or if it “withheld comment,” meaning it needed more time to formulate a response.[8]
On August 6, 1945, agun-typenuclear bomb,Little Boy,was dropped on Hiroshima from aspecial B-29 Superfortress namedEnola Gay, flown by Col.Paul Tibbets. It was the first use of atomic weapons in combat. 70,000 were killed instantly; 30,000 more would die by the end of the year. Hiroshima was chosen as the target to demonstrate the destructiveness of the bomb.[10]
After the bombing of Hiroshima, Harry Truman said that "We have spent two billion dollars on the greatest scientific gamble in history—and won." Japan still continued the war, though, despite some officials' attempts to make peace through the Soviets.[10]
On August 9, 1945, a second and more powerfulplutonium implosion atomic bomb,Fat Man,was dropped on Nagasaki from a differentSilverplate B-29 namedBockscar, flown by Major GeneralCharles Sweeney. The original target wasKokura, but thick clouds covered the city, so the plane was flown to the secondary target, Nagasaki, instead. It killed 40,000 instantly, and another 30,000 would die by the end of the year.[10]
The atomic bombings were one possible reason why Emperor Hirohito decided to surrender to the Allies.[10]
On August 8, 1945, theSoviet Union declared war on Japan, breaking theSoviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact. This dashed any hopes of peace negotiated through the Soviet Union and was a major factor in the surrender of Japan.[11] The next day,Soviet armies invaded Manchuria, attacking from all sides except the south.[11] On August 10, 1945, Soviet forcesinvadedKarafuto Prefecture.[12] Following the declaration, Japan was at war with almost all non-neutral nations.
On August 11, 1945, with the drafting ofGeneral Order No. 1, the38th Parallel was set as the delineation between the Soviet and US occupation zones in Korea, with Japanese forces north of the parallel surrendering to the Soviets, and those to the south surrendering to the Americans.[13]
On August 9, after the Nagasaki atomic bombing, shortly before midnight, Hirohito entered a meeting with his cabinet, where he said that he did not believe Japan could continue to fight the war. The next day, the Japanese Foreign Ministry transmitted to the Allies that they would accept the Potsdam Declaration. In the evening of August 14, Hirohito was recorded accepting thePotsdam Declaration at the NHK broadcasting studio. It would not bebroadcast until the next day at noon.[14]
GeneralDouglas MacArthur was theSupreme Commander for the Allied Powers, and as such had complete control over the occupation of Japan. He issuedGeneral Order No. 1 on August 17, which ordered all Japanese forces tounconditionally surrender to an Allied power in the Pacific, depending on the location.[15][16] On August 30, MacArthur arrived atAtsugi Air Base in Japan to begin theoccupation of Japan by the Allied Powers.[17]
On August 18, Japanese pilots attacked twoB-32s of the386th Bombardment Squadron and312th Bombardment Group on a photo reconnaissance mission over Japan. Sergeant Anthony Marchione, 19, a photographer's assistant, was fatally wounded in the attack and would be the last American killed in air combat in the Second World War.[18]
On August 18, Soviet troops beganinvading the Kuril Islands, starting with amphibiouslandings in Shumshu. Five days later, the last Japanese troops there surrendered.[19] On August 30, after the informal surrender, British forces returned to Hong Kong.[20]
After Japan's defeat in 1945, most of the international community, with the exception of Britain, did not accept Thailand's declaration of war, as it had been signed under duress. Thailand was not occupied by the Allies, but it was forced to return the territory it had regained to the French.[37] In the postwar period, the Thai government had close relations with the United States, which it saw as a protector from the communist revolutions in neighbouring countries.[38]
At the end of World War II,Japan was occupied by theAllies, led by theUnited States with contributions also fromAustralia,India,New Zealand and theUnited Kingdom. This foreign presence marked the first time in its history that the island nation had been occupied by a foreign power.[39] TheSan Francisco Peace Treaty, signed on September 8, 1951, marked the end of the Allied occupation, and after itcame into force on April 28, 1952,Japan was once again an independent country.[40]
One problem faced by the allies were the 3 million Japanese civilian and 3.5 million demobilized military personnel scattered around the region. Gen. MacArthur desired their immediate repatriation to Japan, not just for humanitarian reasons but also to lift the economic burden of the newly liberated territories. Conversely, there were more than 1 million nationals from occupied countries who found themselves in Japan at the end of the war.[41]
On November 30, 1945, under the SCAP directive, the Japanese government dissolved theMinistry of War andMinistry of the Navy. In their place came about First Demobilization Ministry (Army) and the Second Demobilization Ministry (Navy). By mid-1946, both agencies were downgraded to Bureaus and formed under the Welfare Ministry.[41]
Repatriation happened immediately, but Japanese authorities faced logistical issues given that the Japanese maritime industry faced a shortage of ships to transport back the Japanese POWs and civilians. Across the region, the Japanese were mainly confined to concentration camps. From October 1, 1945, to December 31, 1946, the repatriation of more than 5,103,300 Japanese were completed. The Soviet Union retained 1,316,000 POWs, the United Kingdom held 81,000, Netherlands East Indies Government retained 13,500 POWs, while the Chinese government retained 70,000 POWs, for forced labor and reconstruction efforts of their territories in the Western Pacific.[41]
During theoccupation of Japan, leading Japanesewar crime charges were reserved for those who participated in a joint conspiracy to start and wage war, termed "Class A" (crimes against peace), and were brought against those in the highest decision-making bodies; "Class B" crimes were reserved for those who committed "conventional" atrocities or crimes against humanity; "Class C" crimes were reserved for those in "the planning, ordering, authorization, or failure to prevent such transgressions at higher levels in the command structure."[42]
Twenty-eight Japanese military and political leaders were charged with Class A crimes, and more than 5,500 others were charged with Class B and C crimes, as lower-ranking war criminals. TheRepublic of China held 13 tribunals of its own, resulting in 504 convictions and 149 executions.[43] ThePhilippines alsoconducted their own trials with the conviction of Class B and C war criminals. On July 4, 1953, Pres.Elpidio Quirino pardoned 105 of the Japanese war criminals, paving their way for their repatriation to Japan.[44][45]
EmperorHirohito and all members of the imperial family such asPrince Asaka, were not prosecuted for involvement in any the three categories of crimes.Herbert Bix explains that "theTruman administration andGeneral MacArthur both believed the occupation reforms would be implemented smoothly if they used Hirohito to legitimise their changes."[46] As many as 50 suspects, such asNobusuke Kishi, who later became Prime Minister were charged but released without ever being brought to trial in 1947 and 1948.[47]Shirō Ishii received immunity in exchange for data gathered from his experiments on live prisoners.[48] The lone dissenting judge to exonerate all indictees was Indian juristRadhabinod Pal.[49]
The tribunal was adjourned on November 12, 1948.[50]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)