By the time the bomb was actually used, Japan was in no way a &quot;Great Power&quot; or any kind of a match for the US.<p>&gt; In April 1945 a new government headed by Kantaro Suzuki took office with the mission of ending the war. 
<a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.ihr.org&#x2F;jhr&#x2F;v16&#x2F;v16n3p-4_Weber.html" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.ihr.org&#x2F;jhr&#x2F;v16&#x2F;v16n3p-4_Weber.html</a><p>You&#x27;re painting a very black and white portrait. The US military was killing millions of civilians even before the nuclear bombs, not the other way around. I&#x27;m not going to second guess the decision calculus at the time, but you are trumpeting caricature as fact.