Again, the authoritative study showed that, while the bombing of Japanese cities was completely horrific (still under-acknowledged in the histories), the big problem was the tight embargo -- Japan was totally dependent on imports of a range of strategic materials (oil, particularly). Its manufacturing and transportation capacity dried up -- in the last few months of the war, people were reduced to bartering for food (many people left the cities for the countryside carrying valuables to sell or to live with relatives still in farming communities).

It is very, very arguable that there was no need to bomb Japan at all starting in 1945. The country was being reduced to virtual starvation anyway. All the Allies really had to do was wait. Whether the ensuing result would have been more humane than what happened is an interesting question.

yours,

Peter T.