"Confessions of the 'Perpetrators' of the Great Air Raids on Japan: Why Were 460,000 People Killed?"

2021/11/10

It all began with the discovery of a certain set of documents. They were "voice tapes" that had been lying dormant in a U.S. Air Force facility for half a century. These were audio recordings of interviews conducted within the military. The witnesses were 246 U.S. Air Force officers. Officers who were at the heart of the military during the Pacific War spoke candidly about their true feelings and intentions.

"War is a wonderful opportunity," "Victory over Japan through air power alone," "Show off air power to the Army and Navy"...

On the surface, the United States championed "justice and humanity." However, what was being discussed was a completely different, independent agenda of the Air Force. Behind the scenes of the indiscriminate bombing of Japan, there was an ambition to become an independent branch within the U.S. military, and the results of the air raids were a stepping stone to achieving that.

There is something I have wondered about for a long time. Why did Japan have to be bombed so thoroughly 76 years ago? At that time, Japan's defeat was imminent, and an American victory was certain. Nevertheless, in the less than one year leading up to the end of the war, 460,000 people were killed. The clues to finding the answer lay in more than 300 hours of voice tapes.

Each testimony became a piece of the puzzle, revealing the truth behind the indiscriminate bombing of Japan. Even Curtis LeMay, notorious as the "mastermind" of the Great Tokyo Air Raid, was merely a pawn in the quest for Air Force independence, driven into a corner by increasingly twisted orders. "If I didn't produce results, I'd be fired. It was incredibly lonely."

Behind LeMay emerged the figure of Henry Arnold, the head of the Air Force who meticulously prepared and executed what could be called the worst indiscriminate bombing in history. And the air strike strategy that led to that indiscriminate bombing was created by a man whom Arnold looked up to as a mentor. He possessed such insight that he had predicted the attack on Pearl Harbor 17 years in advance, and his philosophy continues to be passed down today as Air Force doctrine.

This book was written based on research for the program "Why Was Japan Burned to the Ground?" broadcast on NHK in August 2017. What insights do the voices of U.S. Air Force officers, questioning us now after half a century, provide? This is the truth of the "Great Air Raids on Japan" seen from the American perspective.

"Confessions of the 'Perpetrators' of the Great Air Raids on Japan: Why Were 460,000 People Killed?"

Fuyuto Suzuki

Shincho Shinsho

224 pages, 836 yen (tax included)

*Affiliations and titles are as of the time of publication.