August of this past year marked eighty years since the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima and another on Nagasaki, compelling Japan to surrender and ending World War II. Observers soon raised questions about whether the atomic attacks were either necessary or morally justified. Debate on this issue continues without yet reaching a consensus on the rightness or wisdom of the U.S. decision to use the atomic bomb. The ongoing argument on this important question has caused historians to devote far less attention to other matters related to the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This theme issue titled “Ending the War with Japan: What’s New about the Atomic Bombs?” presents three articles examining some of them. The authors submitted earlier versions in June 2025 at the annual conference of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations. Andrew O. Pace of the University of Southern Mississippi deserves praise for organizing this incisive panel. Marc S. Gallicchio, professor and Mary M. Birle Chair in American History at Villanova University, served as chair for the session titled “Ending the War in the Pacific: What’s New About the Bomb?” As guest editor for this issue, Gallicchio skillfully guided the process of extensively revising the three papers. Ideally, each volume of the Journal of American-East Asian Relations will have at least one theme issue, but none appeared during 2025. Instead, publication of the most recent example was in the third issue of 2024 titled “The Iwakura Mission: Networks, Knowledge, and National Identity” with Natalia Doan of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville serving as guest editor. The editor-in-chief welcomes the receipt of proposals for future theme issues.
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August of this past year marked eighty years since the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima and another on Nagasaki, compelling Japan to surrender and ending World War II. Observers soon raised questions about whether the atomic attacks were either necessary or morally justified. Debate on this issue continues without yet reaching a consensus on the rightness or wisdom of the U.S. decision to use the atomic bomb. The ongoing argument on this important question has caused historians to devote far less attention to other matters related to the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This theme issue titled “Ending the War with Japan: What’s New about the Atomic Bombs?” presents three articles examining some of them. The authors submitted earlier versions in June 2025 at the annual conference of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations. Andrew O. Pace of the University of Southern Mississippi deserves praise for organizing this incisive panel. Marc S. Gallicchio, professor and Mary M. Birle Chair in American History at Villanova University, served as chair for the session titled “Ending the War in the Pacific: What’s New About the Bomb?” As guest editor for this issue, Gallicchio skillfully guided the process of extensively revising the three papers. Ideally, each volume of the Journal of American-East Asian Relations will have at least one theme issue, but none appeared during 2025. Instead, publication of the most recent example was in the third issue of 2024 titled “The Iwakura Mission: Networks, Knowledge, and National Identity” with Natalia Doan of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville serving as guest editor. The editor-in-chief welcomes the receipt of proposals for future theme issues.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Full Text Views | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 2 | 2 | 2 |
