10 Shocking Effects of American Air Raids on Japan Nobody Talks About

The U.S. aerial bombing of Japan during WWII had an immense effect on Japan and its citizens. Millions of Japanese lived in fear during the final years of the war because of the bombing (that burned to death hundreds of thousands of people).

In most Japanese cities, there was no way to protect the civilian population – and even the shelters were not powerful enough to avoid the bombs and the incursion of the newly released B-29 bombers.

American bombs left almost 1 million homeless just in Tokyo

The American air raids on Japan resulted in massive devastation and left countless Japanese people without a home.

In March 1945, a massive firebombing campaign known as Operation Meetinghouse was carried out against Tokyo. The attack caused widespread fires, killing an estimated 100,000 people and leaving over a million homeless. 

_{Hachioji. Public domain}

Countless Japanese civilians were burned to death and the survivors were left traumatized. Poverty, disease, and malnutrition were rampant, and the homeless population skyrocketed with millions having to live in temporary shelters – or even on the streets knowing that the war could still continue for much longer… But now they would have no shelter.

American conventional bombs were more destructive than the atomic bombs

The US airstrikes during WWII were considered to be even more destructive than the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The atomic bombs were incredibly destructive, but they didn’t destroy the entire cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In fact, the atomic bomb explosion killed about 40,000 people in each of the cities, but the bombing of Tokyo in one night killed 100,000 people.

Therefore, the conventional bombing was much more destructive but required large logistics that could reach more than 300 bombers at the same time. So, maintaining such large-scale bombing could be costly whereas the atomic bomb was much more practical.

The bombing of Tokyo was aimed at civilians

Although before the bombings the United States dropped leaflets from the planes to warn the population to leave the city – they had nowhere else to go.

They only had to wait for their death at home as the bombing was aimed to reduce the Japanese morale by burning to death the Tokyo population with white phosphorus and napalm. In any case, the Japanese army did not allow civilians to leave the city anyway and they had to stay in their homes waiting for the night bombing.

Countless homes, businesses, and public infrastructure were destroyed, leaving many millions without a place to live, food to eat, or medical care. Additionally, the air raid consequences were even more devastating than the bombing itself because poverty and hunger generated numerous collateral victims.

The Japanese capital was fully destroyed and 100,000 people burned to death

The bombing of Tokyo left over 100,000 people dead and the city in ruins. The bombing caused widespread fires that raged out of control, destroying homes, businesses, and infrastructure. The trick was to use Napalm and white phosphorus bombs that would be almost impossible to extinguish in a city where most of the houses were built of wood.

This would ensure that most of the civilians would be trapped in their homes – and if they were not burned to death they would be asphyxiated by the smoke anyway.

Many people were trapped in burning buildings while the fires spread quickly, and the city was soon trapped in flames as a result of 1,665 tons of incendiaries.

American air raids started as retaliation for Pearl Harbor

In response to the unprovoked assault on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, the United States declared war against Japan – and the American military formulated a plan to bomb Japanese territory to reduce its military and industrial power.

Finally, in April 1942, the United States conducted its first bombing of Japan targeting Tokyo. It was the Dolittle Raid, in which the American pilots killed around 50 Japanese and caused damage in the Japanese capital. Although the raids caused minimal destruction, they began a grueling and destructive air campaign against Japan and it showed that no place in Japan would be out of range of American bombers.

Few shelters were built and they offer no real protection against American bombs

The lack of sufficient shelters meant that millions of people were vulnerable to air raids, making it difficult for them to safeguard themselves and their families. 

_{Hachioji after the 1945 air raid. Public domain}

The shelters weren’t capable of protecting the population from the 1800F° heat and smoke provoked by the bombs… And their capacity to house people was quite limited as most of these shelters were built on the fly when there were few resources to invest in them.

The population was forbidden to escape from the cities. Therefore, their fate was to endure the bombings and hopefully survive. In addition, most of the Japanese houses were inhabited mostly by the elderly, children, and women who were likely to die when the wooden houses started to ignite with the incendiary bomb.

The initial American plan was to destroy Kyoto – the Imperial Capital

Kyoto was a city full of culture and history, and it would have been a huge blow to Japan and the world to destroy it. Fortunately, thanks to some American officers, the city was spared from destruction and left out of the bombings. For these officers, it was unnecessary to destroy Japan’s history – and this would be an unusually cruel bombing that really did not add much to the war.

They preserved Kyoto because of its cultural importance. American officers wanted to preserve the city and avoid war crimes like the bombing of Dresden, which destroyed the greatest historical treasure of Germany just for the sake of retaliation.

Atomic bombs were just the final stage of the air raids

In August 1945, the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki sadly concluded the bombing campaigns. The magnitude of the damage caused by the bombs was remarkable – In Hiroshima, 70,000 people were killed, and many people experienced radiation sickness, burns, and other injuries, while others were traumatized psychologically. 

_{Photo by guralski from Pixabay}

Unlike the bombing of Tokyo, which required over 300 hundred B-29 planes, dropping the atomic bomb needed a single plane to create similar damage that, although minor, was still substantial and in a few seconds could leave tens of thousands of fatal victims.

This ended the war, and Japan a few days later presented its unconditional surrender to begin a long and painful process of reconstruction.

Almost 1 million Japanese civilians died as a result of the American air raids

The American air raids on Japan during World War II were devastating, resulting in the loss of 900,000 lives. In 1942, military installations and factories were the initial targets… But unfortunately, civilian areas were eventually included, leading to the tragic loss of countless innocent lives.

The entire Japanese archipelago was part of the bombing target – and 67 cities were bombed. Some cities such as Tokoyama were almost completely destroyed during the war. The once enormous industry was left in ruins and its population was completely demoralized.

The critics of the air raids were silenced in the US

Despite the sorrowful consequences of the air raids, the American military described them as a necessary step to win the war. They argued that targeting civilians was an effective approach to obliterate Japan’s industrial potential.

However, the air raids sparked vigorous debate and criticism both domestically and internationally. Critics argued that the raid was unjustifiable. However, the alternative was to conduct a ground invasion, which in any case would have left a much higher death toll, probably in the millions as the Japanese population was willing to fight for their land and their homes to the last consequences.

And while pacifists were against the bombing, few people were willing to send their children to die in Japan by prolonging the war for many more years. Moreover, this would have left casualties in Japan that would probably have far exceeded those that occurred with the bombing.

The U.S. military claimed that air strikes were necessary to end the war and not share Japan with the Soviet Union

The US military believed these raids were necessary to bring a swift end to the war and minimize American casualties.

The United States was not sure how to end the war and considered different options: Whether to bomb Japan, poison the food and waterways, or invade by land were some of the options.

But the longer it took to end the war, the greater the chances that the Soviet Union would also become involved in the conquest of Japan. The Soviet Union would probably have invaded Japan from the north and split the country in two as it had done with Korea – and the U.S. high command wasn’t willing to share Japan with the Soviet Union.

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_{Featured image: Photo by Tech. Sgt. Robert Jennings}