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they wouldn't have held back; woulda have been psychologically impossible. portions of the government were very militaristic. after the Meiji Restoration, the Emperor became a literally-living god through the national religion of State Shintoism.
the samurai class was abolished, and subcultural elements were transformed to the military. in the same way that extremist Christianity or Islam teaches destructive behavior patterns, State Shintoism promoted the ideal that it would be honorable to die for the Emperor and the country and the people. One's own life is nothing, if it can be of service. to be captured would be a disgrace to the individual and the family, never to be wiped out.
they had a 'master race' ideal of their own, too, in that their Emperor's family is the longest-known monarchy in the world, unbroken and stretching back to what we would call 'scriptural' times.
the population was as indoctrinated as the military. it was a fusion of state religion and right-wing politics that present elements of this country would be proud of. a theocratic, right-wing state here would resemble WW II Japan; with only the names changed.
much as i learned to respect and admire the people i met there, i have no doubt at all that, had they possessed the bomb, they would have used it then. mercy in warfare, from what i'd been able to learn, was weakness. they could bow to nothing but a stronger military entity; which, at the time, was us.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost
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