answersLogoWhite

0


Best Answer

I have seen and heard many figures of the deaths instantaneously, soon after and throughout many decades. In both Nagasaki and Hiroshima each had over 100,000 killed. See link below for some more solid figures.

The estimate of direct deaths from the bomb in Hiroshima was about 70,000 people. For Nagasaki, immediate death totals are less clear, but are estimated from 45,000 to 60,000.

The long-term deaths (severe injuries, radiation) are harder to calculate, with as few as 20,000 or as many as 96,000 additional casualties in Hiroshima. For Nagasaki, the delayed casualties could have been from 25,000 to 40,000 additional deaths. The increased cancer rate among survivors makes the actual death toll even higher.

A very rough estimate would be on the order of 100,000+ in Hiroshima and 60,000+ in Nagasaki.

Getting an accurate estimate of the total casualties has been greatly complicated by a number of factors:

  • Extensive destruction of civil installations (hospitals, fire and police department, and government agencies) made compiling statistics after the fact particularly difficult
  • Extreme confusion immediately following the explosion made organizing any effort to keep consistent records very difficult
  • Because records of the actual population before the bombing are incomplete (the Japanese periodic censuses are not complete for example) trying to estimating deaths by counting survivors in the area and subtracting the number from the original population will have a significant inherent uncertainty
  • The great fires that raged in each city totally consumed many bodies.
  • It is difficult to identify and count those whose deaths are a direct result of exposure to the bomb but who died weeks, months, or years later from that exposure.

For the purposes of this question you must also consider the uncertainties in what what fraction of the total casualties in the cities were civilian and what fraction were military. It should also be noted that in anticipation of a potential invasion of the Japanese main islands, the government of Japan had formed the Patriotic Citizens Fighting Corps allowing all men ages 16 to 60 and all women ages 17 to 40 to be called upon under the Volunteer Enlistment Law. Civilians were trained to use pretty much any available weapon including spears and other sharp instruments. Their instructions included directions that killing even a single Allied soldier would be satisfactory. Since Japan was unable to provide uniforms to civilians, (allowing civilians to be distinguished from soldiers), and that Japan was calling for all civilians to fight, all civilians would effectively become targets for the invading forces if the main Japanese Islands had been invaded; in a July 21, 1945 report, an intelligence officer for the U.S. Fifth Air Force stated:

The entire population of Japan is a proper military target...There are no civilians in Japan.

Japanese Public Law Number 30 was issued on March 27, 1945, officially drafting all members of the Patriotic Citizens Fighting Corps. This means most Japanese adults and teens were officially "military" 4 months before the bombs were dropped. In light of this, the distinction between civilian and military casualties becomes somewhat blurred.

The number of total casualties has been estimated at various times since the bombings with wide discrepancies. Here are some of the estimates from different sources:

Source 1: Hiroshima: 66,000 Nagasaki: 39,000

Source 2: 90,000-166,000 killed in Hiroshima 60,000-80,000 killed in Nagasaki

Source 3: Initial death count in Hiroshima (based solely on the disposal of bodies) set at 42,000-93,000. Surveys during the first months after the bombing yielded a more reliable estimate of 130,000 dead as of November 1945. A similar survey by officials in Nagasaki set its death toll at 60,000-70,000.

Source 4: 200,000 in Hiroshima 140,000 in Nagasaki.

User Avatar

Wiki User

12y ago
This answer is:
User Avatar
More answers
User Avatar

Wiki User

13y ago

less than 200,000. a bit over 90,000 at Hiroshima and a bit less at Nagasaki.

This answer is:
User Avatar

User Avatar

Wiki User

12y ago

90,000-166,000 people in Hiroshima and 60,000-80,000 in Nagasaki.

This answer is:
User Avatar

User Avatar

Wiki User

12y ago

Over 200,000 in both Nagasaki & Heroshima

This answer is:
User Avatar

User Avatar

Wiki User

11y ago

The death toll reached 90,000-166,000 people in Hiroshima and 60,000-80,000 in Nagasaki.

This answer is:
User Avatar

User Avatar

Wiki User

14y ago

580,000

This answer is:
User Avatar

Add your answer:

Earn +20 pts
Q: How many Japanese civilians died in World War 2?
Write your answer...
Submit
Still have questions?
magnify glass
imp