On April 1, 1945, the United States invaded the Japanese island of Okinawa. This was the last major battle of World War II. It was a costly victory. More than 50,000 Allies were killed or wounded. There were also over 100,000 Japanese casualties. It was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific during World War II. Its purpose was to secure Kadena Air Base for air operations during Operation Downfall. Operation Downfall was the planned invasion of the Japanese homeland. Okinawa would not only provide an air base but anchorage for the fleet and troop staging areas. Causality figures for Operation Downfall were estimated by some to exceed a million American lives. When planning began for Operation Downfall, it was not a question of being defeated by the Japanese but how long and costly would the victory be. After six years of fighting, Americans were getting tired of the war. Knowing this, President Harry Truman had to make one of the most controversial decisions in history: whether or not to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In the end, he chose to drop the bomb to save countless lives and bring the war to an end. With Japan defeated by August 1945, the question was what should be done with her in the post-war world. The occupation of Japan had been discussed and agreed upon by the Allies in a series of wartime conferences.
THE UNITED STATES OCCUPIES JAPAN
Dan Olmsted served as a Research Historian in the Institute for the Study of War and Democracy. He started at the Museum in 2014 an... Learn More
OSAKA – On Sept. 2, 1945, senior Japanese officials aboard the battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay surrendered to the United States-led Allied coalition. The move came just over two weeks after Emperor Hirohito told the nation, on Aug. 15, that Japan would surrender. The day marked not only the formal end of the Pacific War but also the beginning of the occupation of Japan by foreign powers for the first time in its history.
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