Senior U.S. official justifies A-bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

   Amid public criticism against former Defense Minister Kyuma Fumio’s remark that the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki “couldn’t be helped,” U.S. nuclear nonproliferation envoy Robert Joseph on July 3 made a remark justifying the U.S. nuclear attacks in 1945.

Joseph said at a press conference in Washington, “Most historians would agree that the use of an atomic bomb brought to a close a war that would have cost millions of more Japanese lives.”

   Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Ichida Tadayoshi criticized on July 4 Joseph’s remark by saying, “That is an extraordinary remark in favor of the use of nuclear weapons. His assertion is totally unacceptable and historically incorrect.”

   Ichida pointed out that Douglas MacArthur, commander in chief of the Allied Forces, stated after the war that if he had been asked for his opinion on the plan to use the atomic bombs against Japan, he would have said that it would be unnecessary because Japan had already been preparing to surrender anyway.

   “Mr. Joseph’s assertion is a ‘myth’ created by U.S. authorities in order to legitimize the atomic bombings. He also made it to defend Mr. Kyuma’s remark and to show his support to Prime Minister Abe Shinzo,” said Ichida.

          - Akahata, July 5, 2007