this post was submitted on 12 Jul 2024
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Explanation: After torturing an American POW after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Japanese cabinet and Emperor were convinced that the US had 100 atomic bombs (we did not) and that further resistance was futile. War Minister Korechika Anami, on the other hand, was an advocate for fighting to death anyway. Insane.
It always amazes me when someone that nuts makes it to a position of power. It shouldn't, but somehow it still does.
Dan Carlin did a series of podcasts on this called 'Supernova in the east', talking about the how and why of Japan's approach to the war. I'm no great historian, but it seemed interesting to me. He quotes his sources and gives a pretty comprehensive overview of the figures involved and the ideologies that drove them. It's a good listen, each episode is around 5 hours long, but they're well laid out and it's easy to pick up from where you stopped.