Legacy

Short-Term Effects
As a result of the dropping of the bomb, the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as well as others, were completely obliterated and had to be rebuilt. Japan surrendered unconditionally to the US, and the US occupied Japan in order to rebuild and bring political and social reforms.

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Long-Term Effects

1. Because of the American occupation of Japan after Japan’s surrender, Japan changed from a monarchy to a democracy. This switch to a free, capitalist system helped Japan’s economy grow rapidly in what was known as the Japanese economic miracle. It grew from an war-torn country to the second most prominent economy in the world in just a few decades, becoming the first developed Asian country.

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2. The Japanese suffered from the effects of the radiation through generations. Cancer caused by the radiation caused birth defects and early deaths. Also, there is still widespread discrimination of people who survived the atomic bombs, known as Hibakusha.

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3. Other countries saw the successful use of the atomic bomb and immediately started their own nuclear weapons programs. One example is the USSR, whose development of nuclear weapons led to an arms race with the United States. This was part of the Cold War. All these new weapons programs have developed the nuclear bomb beyond the great destructive power seen in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and more countries have nuclear weapons than ever before. This means that America is constantly at risk of an atomic bombing today and future wars could have more atomic bombings and be bloodier than WW2.

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