Nuclear weapons were first developed in the United States during the Second World War to be used against Germany.However, by the time the first bombs were ready for use, the war with Germany had ended and, as a result, the decision was made to use the weapons against Japan instead. The real reasons why bombs were dropped on two heavily populated cities are not altogether clear.A number of people in 1944 and early 1945 argued that the use of nuclear weapons would be unnecessary, since American Intelligence was aware that some of the most powerful and influential people in Japan had already realised that the war was lost, and wanted to discuss a Japanese surrender  .It was also argued that, since Japan has few natural resources, a blockade   by the American navy would force it to surrender within a few Weeks, and the use of nuclear weapons would prove unnecessary.If a demonstration of force was required to end the war, a bomb could be dropped over an unpopulated area like a desert, in front of Japanese observers, or over an area of low population inside Japan, such as a forest.Choosing this course of action might decrease the loss of further lives on all sides, while the power of nuclear weapons would still be adequately demonstrated . All of these arguments were turned down, however, and the general agreement was that the quickest way to end the fighting would be to use nuclear weapons against the centres of population inside Japan.In fact, two of the more likely reasons why the decision was reached seem quite shocking to us now. According to Paragraph 2, a blockade would have been successful because
Japan had to import most of its natural resources Japan would not be powerful enough to beat a blockade an attack would probably destroy Japanese resources within a few weeks the Americans could defeat Japan's navy since it was short of resources