If we had

[76646]

Invaded Japan. What would have happened? I've been thinking about this for a couple days now.

[Spikes]

Well we never invaded them but we ran their country and 'rebuilt' it for around 5 years...

[APDrone]

Watch Episode 9 of 'The Pacific', and multiply it by 10.. and every time a native was seen it would have been shredded apart by our soldiers' gunfire.

[whipster22]

women and kids were lining the beaches with bamboo polls. It would of been a blood bath

[AirFlyer]

There are estimates, and the invasion itself would of cost millions of lives on both sides. Assuming they still didn't quit guerrilla tactics would of kept the war going for a few more years likely and only stacked the casualties higher. All in all I'd imagine it would of screwed Japan out of becoming the economic power-house it is today.

[uptown]

sorry...double post. 

[uptown]

With the development of the atomic bomb, invasion was no longer a option. But if we hadn't used it Russia have already agreed to come in from the north. 100s of thousands more people would have lost their lives and the Empire of Japan would have been divided up as Germany was.
If that were to have happened half of Japan would look a lot like China I suspect, with the north being under communist rule. Which that would mean Korea would also probably be all communist today as well. Interesting thought indeed.

[saggs]

PBS did a documentary I saw recently based on this hypothetical.  I forget what it was called, but it was very well put together.

Bottom line, casualties in the tens of millions, probably would have been an even greater death toll for the Japanese, then the eastern front was for the Russians.  And the initial US invasion would have been like D-day times 10.

[AKH]

women and kids were lining the beaches with bamboo polls. It would of been a blood bath

Bamboo polls are more binding than straw polls and more indicative of the final result than exit polls.

[curry1]

PBS did a documentary I saw recently based on this hypothetical.  I forget what it was called, but it was very well put together.

Bottom line, casualties in the tens of millions, probably would have been an even greater death toll for the Japanese, then the Battle of the Bulge was for the Russians.  And the initial US invasion would have been like D-day times 10.

So your saying no one would die?

[Yeager]

Invaded Japan. What would have happened? I've been thinking about this for a couple days now.

a million American/Allied causalities was estimated and considering how far underestimated the enemy strength and allied casualty estimates always were in the pacific I'm guessing two million American/Allied casualties and 10-12 million Japanese dead/wounded in a full on invasion.
I just cant fathom that ever happening. 

Anyway....My call is "No Invasion" but instead the "continual application of atomic bombs on Japanese population centers until there was no fighting population left."

On a related note: I remember my dad telling me how grateful he was for the atomic bombs that finally forced Japan to capitulate.  Dad turned 16 yrs old in the spring of 45 and figured sure as hell he would be fighting in Japan and likely dying there before his 18th birthday.  Pretty heavy for a young kid to have to think that way.

[saggs]

So your saying no one would die?

LOL

 Sorry,  was thinking eastern front, and typed something else entirely.

[uptown]

 

Anyway....My call is "No Invasion" but instead the "continual application of atomic bombs on Japanese population centers until there was no fighting population left."

.

MacArthur was in favor of nuking Japan to hell and back, but it was decided that the radiation fallout would be just as bad for the Allied troops coming ashore. I do believe though, that the US would have done that, if Japan had not surrendered when they did, just to keep Stalins hands off of the island.
It's really scary to think what would have happened if the Empire of Japan hadn't surrendered when they did.

[Chalenge]

I dont think it matters since the bombs we DID use were so expensive to make (in fact I think we were Winchester). I also dont think the bombs played as large a role as you all seem to be saying.

[fudgums]

Chalenge, we bombed tokyo worse than the nagasaki and hiroshima bombings. Yet, the two atomic bombs saved more lives than it took.