Historical Dictionary of United States-Japan ... - Bakumatsu Films

ATOMIC ENERGY BASIC LAW • 47
ATOMIC BOMBING DEBATE. America’s atomic bomb attacks
against Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 continue to spark
heated historical controversy. The fundamental issue that has divided
scholars is whether the use of atomic bombs against Hiroshima and
Nagasaki was necessary to achieve victory in the war against Japan.
The traditional interpretation insists that the decision to bomb Hiroshima
and Nagasaki was informed by an aversion to the huge
losses in American lives that an invasion of the Japanese home islands
entailed, and this was only heightened by the Battle of Okinawa.
The revisionist interpretation argues that Japan in any event
was near defeat and that the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
was informed less by military necessities than by an attempt
to intimidate the Soviet Union.
A reading of those works that make extensive use of Japanese
source materials reveals a different set of controversies. One line of
argument put forth in the late 1990s takes direct issue with the revisionist
argument that—with or without Hiroshima and Nagasaki—
Japan was on the brink of defeat. This argument maintains that although
defeat is a military fait accompli, surrender is an act of
political decision-making. It concludes that the bombing of Hiroshima
and Nagasaki made it possible for a hopelessly divided Japanese government
to reach the political decision for surrender. A separate line of
argument takes issue with this interpretation, concluding that the single
most crucial issue in Japan’s decision to surrender was not the
atomic attacks against Hiroshima and Nagasaki but the Soviet Union’s
entry into the war. See also ATOMIC BOMB ATTACKS.
ATOMIC ENERGY BASIC LAW. This law promulgated on 19 December
1955 regulates the use of nuclear energy in Japan. The stated
aim of the law is to promote the general welfare of Japanese citizens,
improve the standard of living by securing future energy resources,
advancing academic research, and promoting industrial development.
Use of nuclear energy is strictly limited to peaceful purpose and is
guided by three principles: self-determination, democracy, and openness.
In order to ensure safe use of nuclear energy, the law stipulates
that Japan should implement its own independent government policies
for regulating nuclear energy under a process that is democratic
and open to the public.