Today is Victory in Japan day! The fighting stopped today in 1945. The official ratification was signed on the USS Missouri at Tokyo on September 2nd.

In the weeks prior to the surrender, the United States dropped two bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6th and 9th, respectively. On the 9th, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan. On the 10th of August, the Japanese government communicated their intention to accept the terms of the previously discussed Potsdam Declaration and surrender. The Allies were not completely comfortable with the terms of surrender and the terms were discussed for several days before an actual surrender was announced. After those several days, on August 14th, Japan announced its actual surrender and the date of September 2nd was set as the date to formally sign the agreement with the Allies, on the USS Missouri in Tokyo.

The bombs spurred chatter throughout the world about how the weapon would affect the international system of politics, and the way states interact. Russia did not officially comment on the effect of the bombs on political stability, however, Germany did mention that they would not have been as wise as Japan, meaning that the German government would not have surrendered if an atomic bomb had been used on them as means to engender a surrender. It is interesting to consider the possible alternative endings to World War II, had the weapons been used on Germany in addition to or rather than Japan.

Returning to the announcement on August 14th, celebrations erupted around the world, in the streets of London, Paris, San Francisco, and New York especially. There were also celebrations from soldiers in the Pacific, however, the celebration at Okinawa went quite wrong. Soldiers fired their firearms into the air in joy, but the nearby ships understood the shots to mean that there was a Kamikaze attack coming, so they prepped their anti-aircraft guns. In all, six people were killed in the chaos and 11 wounded. The B-29 crews on Tinian Island stoodby as they anticipated their recently canceled mission to be rescheduled, and were not afforded a celebration quite yet.

President Truman announced Japan’s surrender from Washington, D.C., but emphasized that the surrender was not official until the scheduled signatures were dry.

The books chosen for this post give the opportunity for a view on the subject from a perspective other than American. US relations with Japan were fragile before and after the war. Max Hastings, a British author, offers insight to the relationship between the East and the West economic big wigs.  The latter book, however, was written by a Japanese Admiral. Admiral Matome Ugaki maintained a journal of his experiences during the years 1941-1945.

Click on the book cover to see it in our collection.

Source:
Chase’s Calendar of Events 2013
Wikipedia: Victory Over Japan
Wikipedia: Potsdam Declaration