{"id":36053,"date":"2019-07-27T11:09:57","date_gmt":"2019-07-27T15:09:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/?p=36053"},"modified":"2019-07-27T11:09:57","modified_gmt":"2019-07-27T15:09:57","slug":"japanese-universal-military-conscription-nuclear-bombings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2019\/07\/japanese-universal-military-conscription-nuclear-bombings.html","title":{"rendered":"Japanese “Universal” Military Conscription & Nuclear Bombings"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/p>\n

My dialogue opponent\u2019s words (originally posted on Mark Shea\u2019s site) will be in blue<\/span>.<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the errors that many prominent Catholic apologists and writers make in issuing blanket condemnations of the bombings are too many to discuss in an exhaustive manner.\u00a0So, I will restrict myself to what I think is the most glaring: that we targeted non-combatants. This is not only false, but absolutely impossible when you consider that Japan had complete[ly] erased the distinction between combatant and non-combatant by conscripting practically the entire adult population.\u00a0Gen. MacArthur biographer Willliam Manchester points out: (by the way, MacArthur vociferously denounced the atomic bombings):\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Hirohito\u2019s generals, grimly preparing for the invasion, had not abandoned hope of saving their homeland. Although a few strategic islands had been lost, they told each other, most of their conquests, including the Chinese heartland, were firmly in their hands, and the bulk of their army was undefeated. Even now they could scarcely believe that any foe would have the audacity to attempt landings in Japan itself. Allied troops, they boasted, would face the fiercest resistance in history. Over ten thousand kamikaze planes were readied for \u201cKetsu-Go,\u201d Operation Decision. Behind the beaches, enormous connecting underground caves had been stocked with caches of food and thousands of tons of ammunition. Manning the nation\u2019s ground defenses were 2,350,000 regular soldiers, 250,000 garrison troops, and 32,000,000 civilian militiamen, a total of 34,600,000, more than the combined armies of the United States, Great Britain, and Nazi Germany. All males aged fifteen to sixty, and all females ages seventeen to forty-five, had been conscripted. Their weapons included ancient bronze cannon, muzzle loaded muskets, bamboo spears, and bows and arrows. Even little children had been trained to strap explosives around their waists, roll under tank treads, and blow themselves up. They were called \u201cSherman\u2019s carpets.\u201d This was the enemy the Pentagon had learned to fear and hate,a country of fanatics dedicated to hara-kiri, determined to slay as many invaders as possible as they went down fighting.\u00a0[William Manchester:\u00a0American Caesar: Douglas MacArthur 1880-1964<\/em>, pg. 510-511)]<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In other words, the entire country of Japan was thus turned into a military base and therefore a military, not a civilian, target.\u00a0Therefore, given this fact, and following the principle of proportionality (not the same as proportionalism) recognized by the Catholic Church a legitimate moral consideration (i.e. that the only other alternative would have caused more death and destruction on both sides) , it is more than licit for a Catholic to agree with Truman\u2019s decision.<\/span>\u00a0[comment on 5-22-08]<\/p>\n

I\u2019m curious. I haven\u2019t read this whole combox thread (if I started doing that on this site I\u2019d have time for nothing else). Has anyone asked how an infant or a comatose person or severely retarded or schizophrenic or senile person could magically turn into a \u201ccombatant\u201d because the Japanese government said so? Everyone immediately becomes a soldier in one second because the crazy Japanese command in 1944 or 1945 says so? Therefore they can be morally annihilated according to good ol\u2019 Catholic just war theory? [comment on 5-24-08]<\/p>\n

[citing William Manchester]:<\/p>\n

\n

All males aged fifteen to sixty, and all females ages seventeen to forty-five, had been conscripted.\u00a0(American Caesar: Douglas MacArthur 1880-1964<\/i>, pg. 510-511)<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In other words, the entire country of Japan was thus turned into a military base and therefore a military, not a civilian, target.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But this proves my point exactly (a contradiction is present here): it means males under 15 and over 60 and females under 17 and over 45, had\u00a0not\u00a0been conscripted; therefore, they were civilian targets, which is not in accordance with just war ethics.\u00a0In addition there were people in the categories I had mentioned: infants, comatose, severely retarded, schizophrenic, senile.<\/p>\n

Other similar categories would be the elderly in general and the sick and inform (folks like quadriplegics or terminally ill or less sick but confined to bed), who were in no position to fight against anyone; also whatever number of \u201cconscientious objectors\u201d or pacifists who could be found in Japan.<\/p>\n

These were all killed alongside the conscripted civilians. This particular defense was always a wrongheaded, confused one. It was when I interacted with you and [so-and-so] on the nuclear issue, and it remains one now. It\u2019s the weak link in your entire argument. Once this is understood, there is little left, and the attempt to transform these horrific acts into justifiable ones in light of Catholic teaching falls flat.[comment of 5-25-08]<\/p>\n

Medical personnel is another such \u201cnon-military\u201d category. According to\u00a0one estimate<\/a>: \u201cOf 2,160 medical personnel in Hiroshima at the time of the bombing, 1,980 were killed or injured.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yet another category that should be considered is Koreans who were conscripted against their will into the Japanese military. According to the copiously documented Wikipedia article,\u00a0\u201cKorea Under Japanese Rule\u201d<\/a>:<\/p>\n

In the case of Korean A-bomb victims in Japan during World War II, many Koreans were drafted for work at military industrial factories in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. There were a total of 70,000 Korean casualties in both cities; 40,000 were killed and 30,000 were exposed to the A-bomb radiation.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

One could argue, I suppose, that these are still soldiers, and so, \u201cwhat\u2019s the beef?\u201d But this misses the point. If the goal is to kill actual Japanese soldiers: the ones who kept the machine going, and who are legitimate targets of military actions, and it involves 40,000 Koreans who were forcibly conscripted, then this is hardly a just response itself, because the target (i.e., these Koreans) are not the ones who are at fault.<\/p>\n

It would be like 40,000 American POWs now \u201crecruited\u201d for the Japanese war effort. Do we simply slaughter them, too, in the nukings, as if there is not a qualitative difference, ethically speaking, since the Americans in no way were in any agreement with the Japanese goals? Likewise with Koreans.<\/p>\n

The Wikipedia article,\u00a0\u201cAtomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki\u201d<\/a>\u00a0provides further statistics:<\/p>\n

In the spring of 1948, the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission (ABCC) was established in accordance with a presidential directive from Harry S. Truman to the National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council to conduct investigations of the late effects of radiation among the survivors in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Among the casualties were found many unintended victims including:<\/p>\n

* Allied POWs.
\n* Korean and Chinese labourers.
\n* Students from Malaya on scholarships.
\n* Some 3,200 Japanese American citizens. [51]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Footnote 51:<\/p>\n

Forgotten Wars: Freedom and Revolution in Southeast Asia, Prologue: An Unending War<\/i>, Christopher Bayly & Tim Harper, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, pp. 3<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Also:<\/p>\n

During the war Japan brought many Korean conscripts to both Hiroshima and Nagasaki to work as forced labor. According to recent estimates, about 20,000 Koreans were killed in Hiroshima and about 2,000 died in Nagasaki. It is estimated that one in seven of the Hiroshima victims was of Korean ancestry. [57]<\/p>\n

Footnote 57:<\/p>\n

Mikiso Hane.\u00a0Modern Japan: A Historical Survey<\/i>. Boulder: Westview Press, 1992.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

***<\/p>\n

(originally from 5-25-08)<\/p>\n

Photo credit:<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0Burnt Pineapple Productions<\/a>\u00a0(3-12-17)<\/span> [Flickr<\/a> \/ public domain<\/a>]<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My dialogue opponent\u2019s words (originally posted on Mark Shea\u2019s site) will be in blue. ***** Unfortunately, the errors that many prominent Catholic apologists and writers make in issuing blanket condemnations of the bombings are too many to discuss in an exhaustive manner.\u00a0So, I will restrict myself to what I think is the most glaring: that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2331,"featured_media":36056,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[81],"tags":[2924,2929,2931,1015,2928,4861,2925,2923,2932,2926,7915,2930,2922,2921,2933,133,2927],"class_list":["post-36053","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-life-issues","tag-attacking-civilians","tag-bombing-of-cities","tag-catholic-morality","tag-catholic-social-teaching","tag-ethics-in-warfare","tag-gaudium-et-spes","tag-hiroshima","tag-just-war-theory","tag-mass-murder","tag-nagasaki","tag-nuclear-bombing","tag-nuclear-bombing-of-japan","tag-nuclear-ethics","tag-nuclear-war","tag-terrorist-attacks","tag-vatican-ii","tag-world-war-ii"],"yoast_head":"\nJapanese "Universal" Military Conscription & Nuclear Bombings<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Infants, comatose persons, severely retarded, schizophrenic, and 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Formerly a campus missionary, as a Protestant, Dave was received into the Catholic Church in February 1991, by the late, well-known catechist and theologian, Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Dave\u2019s articles have appeared in many influential Catholic periodicals, including \\\"This Rock\\\" (now called \\\"Catholic Answers Magazine\\\"), \\\"Envoy Magazine\\\" (Patrick Madrid), \\\"The Catholic Answer,\\\" \\\"The Coming Home Journal,\\\" \\\"Gilbert Magazine\\\" (American Chesterton Society), and \\\"The Latin Mass.\\\" He also writes a featured column for every issue of \\\"The Michigan Catholic\\\": published by the archdiocese of Detroit, and was editor for most of the apologetics tracts published by the St. Paul Street Evangelization apostolate. Dave\u2019s apologetics and writing apostolate was the subject of a feature article in the May 2002 issue of \\\"Envoy Magazine.\\\" He served as the staff moderator at the Internet discussion forum for The Coming Home Network, from 2007-2010. Dave has been interviewed on many nationally syndicated Catholic radio shows, including \\\"Catholic Answers Live\\\" (twice), \\\"Faith and Family Live\\\" (Steve Wood), \\\"Kresta in the Afternoon,\\\" \\\"Son Rise Morning Show,\\\" \\\"Catholic Connection\\\" (Teresa Tomeo), and \\\"The Catholics Next Door.\\\" His large and popular website, \\\"Biblical Evidence for Catholicism,\\\" was online from March 1997 to March 2007, and received the 1998 Catholic Website of the Year award from \\\"Envoy Magazine.\\\" His blog of the same name (now transferred to Patheos), begun in February 2004, contains more than 1,500 papers, at least 500 debates or dialogues, and over 50 distinct \\\"index\\\" web pages. Unsolicited correspondence has indicated many hundreds of conversions (or returns) to the Catholic faith as a result, by God's grace, of these writings. Dave's conversion story was published in the bestselling book \\\"Surprised by Truth\\\" (edited by Patrick Madrid; San Diego: Basilica Press, 1994). Sophia Institute Press has published six of his books: \\\"A Biblical Defense of Catholicism\\\" (Foreword by Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J., 1996 \/ 2003), \\\"The Catholic Verses\\\" (2004), \\\"The One-Minute Apologist\\\" (2007), \\\"Bible Proofs for Catholic Truths\\\" (2009), \\\"The Quotable Newman\\\" (editor: 2012), and \\\"Proving the Catholic Faith is Biblical\\\" (2015). He is co-author (with Dr. Paul Thigpen) of the inserts for \\\"The New Catholic Answer Bible\\\" (Our Sunday Visitor: 2005), and editor for \\\"The Wisdom of Mr. Chesterton: The Very Best Quotes, Quips, and Cracks from the Pen of G. K. Chesterton\\\" (Saint Benedict Press \/ TAN Books: 2009). \\\"100 Biblical Arguments Against Sola Scriptura\\\" was published by Catholic Answers in May 2012. His \\\"Quotable Wesley\\\" compilation was published by (Protestant \/ Wesleyan publisher) Beacon Hill Press in April 2014. Several of his 49 books are bestsellers in their field. Dave maintains a popular personal Facebook page, a Facebook author page, and has a Twitter account as well. He offers almost all of his books in e-book form on his own Biblical Catholicism site (http:\/\/biblicalcatholicism.com\/), at a permanent deep discount: only $2.99 for ePub, mobi, and AZW, and $1.99 for PDF. His writing has been enthusiastically endorsed or recommended by many leading Catholic apologists, authors, and priests, including Dr. Scott Hahn, Fr. Peter M. J. Stravinskas, Marcus Grodi, Patrick Madrid, Steve Ray, Tim Staples, Devin Rose, Mike Aquilina, Al Kresta, Karl Keating, Fr. Dwight Longenecker, Brandon Vogt, Marcellino D'Ambrosio, and Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Dave has been happily married to his wife Judy since October 1984. 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Formerly a campus missionary, as a Protestant, Dave was received into the Catholic Church in February 1991, by the late, well-known catechist and theologian, Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Dave\u2019s articles have appeared in many influential Catholic periodicals, including \"This Rock\" (now called \"Catholic Answers Magazine\"), \"Envoy Magazine\" (Patrick Madrid), \"The Catholic Answer,\" \"The Coming Home Journal,\" \"Gilbert Magazine\" (American Chesterton Society), and \"The Latin Mass.\" He also writes a featured column for every issue of \"The Michigan Catholic\": published by the archdiocese of Detroit, and was editor for most of the apologetics tracts published by the St. Paul Street Evangelization apostolate. Dave\u2019s apologetics and writing apostolate was the subject of a feature article in the May 2002 issue of \"Envoy Magazine.\" He served as the staff moderator at the Internet discussion forum for The Coming Home Network, from 2007-2010. Dave has been interviewed on many nationally syndicated Catholic radio shows, including \"Catholic Answers Live\" (twice), \"Faith and Family Live\" (Steve Wood), \"Kresta in the Afternoon,\" \"Son Rise Morning Show,\" \"Catholic Connection\" (Teresa Tomeo), and \"The Catholics Next Door.\" His large and popular website, \"Biblical Evidence for Catholicism,\" was online from March 1997 to March 2007, and received the 1998 Catholic Website of the Year award from \"Envoy Magazine.\" His blog of the same name (now transferred to Patheos), begun in February 2004, contains more than 1,500 papers, at least 500 debates or dialogues, and over 50 distinct \"index\" web pages. Unsolicited correspondence has indicated many hundreds of conversions (or returns) to the Catholic faith as a result, by God's grace, of these writings. Dave's conversion story was published in the bestselling book \"Surprised by Truth\" (edited by Patrick Madrid; San Diego: Basilica Press, 1994). Sophia Institute Press has published six of his books: \"A Biblical Defense of Catholicism\" (Foreword by Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J., 1996 \/ 2003), \"The Catholic Verses\" (2004), \"The One-Minute Apologist\" (2007), \"Bible Proofs for Catholic Truths\" (2009), \"The Quotable Newman\" (editor: 2012), and \"Proving the Catholic Faith is Biblical\" (2015). He is co-author (with Dr. Paul Thigpen) of the inserts for \"The New Catholic Answer Bible\" (Our Sunday Visitor: 2005), and editor for \"The Wisdom of Mr. Chesterton: The Very Best Quotes, Quips, and Cracks from the Pen of G. K. Chesterton\" (Saint Benedict Press \/ TAN Books: 2009). \"100 Biblical Arguments Against Sola Scriptura\" was published by Catholic Answers in May 2012. His \"Quotable Wesley\" compilation was published by (Protestant \/ Wesleyan publisher) Beacon Hill Press in April 2014. Several of his 49 books are bestsellers in their field. Dave maintains a popular personal Facebook page, a Facebook author page, and has a Twitter account as well. He offers almost all of his books in e-book form on his own Biblical Catholicism site (http:\/\/biblicalcatholicism.com\/), at a permanent deep discount: only $2.99 for ePub, mobi, and AZW, and $1.99 for PDF. His writing has been enthusiastically endorsed or recommended by many leading Catholic apologists, authors, and priests, including Dr. Scott Hahn, Fr. Peter M. J. Stravinskas, Marcus Grodi, Patrick Madrid, Steve Ray, Tim Staples, Devin Rose, Mike Aquilina, Al Kresta, Karl Keating, Fr. Dwight Longenecker, Brandon Vogt, Marcellino D'Ambrosio, and Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Dave has been happily married to his wife Judy since October 1984. They have three sons and a daughter, and reside in southeast Michigan (metro Detroit).","sameAs":["https:\/\/biblicalcatholicism.com\/","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dave.armstrong.798","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@LuxVeritatisApologetics"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/author\/davearmstrong"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36053","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2331"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36053"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36053\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36056"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36053"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36053"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36053"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}