Question

What did the U.S. government fear about Japan, which led to the decision to use atomic bombs?

Answer 1

They were afraid of a suicidal defence of Japan which would lead to enormous American losses if a land invasion was undertaken.

Explanation:

The American experience in capturing islands from Japanese control was that the Japanese garrison would often fight to virtually the last man. This reflected the Japanese militaristic and imperial culture which dominated at the time.

Their experiences of kamikaze pilots and the refusal to show any signs of surrendering led the Americans to conclude that a land invasion was too costly in terms of American casualties. An estimated 250,000 US deaths would have occurred possibly more.

The decision was thus taken to use nuclear weapons and even then it took a second bomb to force the Japanese surrender.