Today, the international community marks the 80th anniversary of one of the most tragic events in military history – the atomic bombing of the Japanese city of Nagasaki, carried out during World War II. This memorable date marks an extremely dramatic moment that forever changed the understanding of warfare.
The bomb, called "Fat Man", possessed unprecedented destructive power, equivalent to 21,000 tons of TNT. Its dropping occurred just three days after the first atomic bombing of Hiroshima, turning the two Japanese cities into symbols of nuclear nightmare.
The statistics are shocking – nearly 220,000 people died immediately during the explosions, and over 200,000 died later from the consequences of radiation exposure. The Allied military forces, led by General Carl Spaatz, officially reported that 30% of Nagasaki's urban infrastructure was completely destroyed, including all industrial zones.
Japanese studies expert Dr. Martin Dimitrov from Sofia University emphasizes the exceptional significance of this historical moment. According to him, the event leaves a deep psychological imprint on Japanese society, which manifests in several essential social trends.
First and foremost, the tragedy motivated the Japanese nation to focus its efforts on post-war economic recovery. Simultaneously, the country adopted a consistent position on nuclear disarmament and the spread of the idea of international peace.
Japan's Constitution contains an unprecedented Article 9, which categorically declares a renunciation of war as a means of resolving international disputes. The document explicitly prohibits maintaining traditional military formations, which is a unique approach in world diplomacy.
Despite this declaration, Japan still created so-called self-defense forces, which generates internal political discussions regarding the interpretation of constitutional texts. Contemporary geopolitical realities in East Asia further complicate this debate.
Hiroshima and Nagasaki are now fully restored, but they preserve the memory of what happened. In Hiroshima, one of the central buildings was intentionally left in its original destroyed state as a memorial and warning.
An interesting detail about the bombing is that the original target was the city of Kokura. Due to poor visibility from clouds, the course was changed to Nagasaki. On August 9 at 11:02, the bomb exploded at an altitude of 1,650 feet, causing the death of 39,000 people and inflicting severe injuries on 25,000 people.
The historical documents of BTA preserve the emotional palette of that moment – a mixture of hope for peace, scientific amazement, and existential fear in the face of the previously unseen destructive potential of human technology.
The message that remains to this day is eloquent: humanity must strive for peaceful coexistence, starting with the individual responsibility of each person.