Why didn't Japan build an atomic bomb during World War II?

Long before the outbreak of the Pacific War, General An Tian Beowulf was the first Japanese military leader interested in atomic bombs. He graduated from the University of Tokyo, Japan, served as the director of the Army Aviation Technology Research Institute, and later served as the Chief of Staff of the Imperial Air Force. Wu Xiong of An Tian is very concerned about the progress of foreign military science and technology, and naturally noticed the discovery of nuclear fission. 1940 in April, after learning that nuclear fission has great military potential, An Tian Wu Xiong asked his teacher Professor Kaoyayoshi about this problem. Liang Ji has been to the United States, met some young physicists and got to know the latest development of nuclear physics. At the request of An Tian Wu Xiong, Kauyaji pointed out in writing that the latest achievements in nuclear physics have great potential in the military field.

After seeing this written opinion, Japanese Army Minister tojo hideki instructed experts to study this issue. 194 1 In May, An Tian Wu Xiong instructed the Japanese Institute of Physical Chemistry to discuss the possibility of developing uranium bombs, which was headed by Professor Yoshio Nishio, a famous Japanese nuclear physicist.

PeopleSoft built a small cyclotron in the laboratory in Tokyo, and a second large accelerator with 250 tons of magnets according to the design donated by American physicist Ernest Lawrence. This laboratory soon attracted 100 young Japanese scientists and technicians to participate in this huge research. In the first two years, they basically devoted themselves to theoretical calculation, comparing various methods to distinguish uranium isotopes and looking for uranium deposits.

At the same time that the Army (the Japanese Air Force is affiliated to the War Department) conducts nuclear research, the Japanese Navy has also begun to study the atomic bomb. At the beginning of 1942, the navy began to develop atomic energy. The Admiralty believes that studying nuclear physics has become an important task. The research in this field in the United States has made rapid progress. Thanks to the help of some Jewish scientists, the United States has made great progress in this regard. Japan's research goal is to obtain energy through nuclear fission and provide reliable and huge power source for ships and large machinery. To this end, the Naval Technology Research Institute has set up a Committee on the Utilization of Nuclear Physics Achievements to track the research progress abroad. Members of the Committee include top Japanese physicists, such as Kaoyayoshi, Arakatsu Wence and Masaji Kikuda, and Yoshio Nishina was elected as the chairman of the Committee.

By March of 1943, the Committee had held 10 physics seminar. The Committee estimated that hundreds of tons of uranium ore were needed to make an atomic bomb, and separating uranium 235 would consume about110 of Japanese annual power generation and 1/2 of China's copper production. Finally, the Committee concluded that it is feasible to make an atomic bomb in theory, but it will take about 10 years. The Committee also believes that neither the United States nor Germany has the redundant industrial capacity to produce atomic bombs in wartime. Convinced that nuclear physics research could not achieve any results in the short term, the navy ordered the dissolution of this Committee.

Germany's submarine transporting uranium ore to Japan was sunk by the US military.

But Nishio Yoshio continued to develop atomic bombs for the army. His plan is very similar to the "Manhattan Plan" of the United States. The design and development of weapons are carried out simultaneously with the production of uranium-235. 1943 on may 5, he submitted a report to the air force command, pointing out that it is technically feasible to make an atomic bomb. Subsequently, An Tian Wu Xiong forwarded the report to tojo hideki, who has become the Prime Minister.

After reviewing PeopleSoft's report, tojo hideki immediately instructed Hua Dao, the general director of the Air Force Command, to give priority to the funds, materials and manpower needed for the plan. The Imperial Air Force Command approved a secret plan based on the PeopleSoft report, code-named "PeopleSoft Plan". It is named after the first syllable of the name of the person in charge, Yoshio Nishimoto.

Yoshio Nishio said to Hua Dao, the head of the general affairs class, "Everyone, we already have it. The main difficulty is uranium. I hope the army will help us get uranium. " From the summer of 1943, Huadao sent groups of people to various famous mines in the Japanese archipelago and the Korean peninsula, and brought back various ore samples, but none of them contained uranium. The "Benevolence Project" urgently needed uranium oxide for experiments. So Japan decided to ask Germany for help. At the end of 1943, Germany sent submarines to transport a ton of uranium ore to Japan. As a result, due to information leakage, the submarine was sunk by American troops ambushing in the Straits of Malacca. Since then, Germany has been repeatedly defeated in the Soviet-German battlefield, and it is difficult to protect itself and has no time to take care of Japan.

The large-scale bombing of Tokyo by the US military finally aborted Japan's "kindness plan".

Due to various restrictions, the "Kindness Plan" has been in the laboratory research stage from its implementation to the collapse of Tojo's cabinet in July 1944. With the deterioration of the war situation, the research on the atomic bomb has become more intense. At this time, the "Benevolence Project" team began the experiment of separating uranium isotopes. Until the beginning of 1945, the "Ren Fang Project" team had conducted six uranium separation experiments, but the results all ended in failure.

1in the spring of 945, the allied forces have achieved absolute superiority on the battlefield. American long-range bomber B-29 began to attack Japanese cities. At this time, the "Benevolence Plan" team is working hard. The experiment of separating uranium 235 gradually shows signs of success. Many members of the "Benevolence Project" team are ecstatic, but Nishimoto Yoshio is not optimistic. He knows very well that in order to get the uranium needed for the atomic bomb, huge technical equipment and enough uranium ore are needed. All this is difficult to achieve with the deterioration of the Japanese war situation.

On April 13, the US Air Force bombed Tokyo on a large scale. Building 49 of the Institute of Aviation Technology was blown up, and the "Mercy Project" laboratory and uranium isotope separator inside were naturally not spared. At this point, the "Benevolence Project" team has been unable to continue its research.

Japan believes that the United States will not develop an atomic bomb, clamoring that as long as it can develop a nuclear bomb, it can drive the US troops out of the sea.

On July 22, several physicists from the "Kindness Project" group held a meeting with representatives of the navy. These scientists said to the admiral, "theoretically speaking, it is possible to make an atomic bomb, but according to all aspects, no one can use an atomic bomb in the current war." Ironically, before July 16, the American atomic bomb had been successfully tested, but the news was tightly sealed and the Japanese authorities did not know.

On August 6, Hiroshima was in ruins after the arrival of the atomic bomb "Little Boy". Nishio Yoshio immediately took people to conduct in-situ tests, and then confirmed to the military that it was an atomic bomb. The almost crazy Japanese army called these scientists at the base camp and said, "Once the American troops land, the Japanese army and militia will persist for six months at all costs. If you can develop an atomic bomb during this period, we can drive the American army out of the sea. "

Yoshio Nishio sighed and said, "Don't say that six months is not enough. We have neither uranium nor electricity, and we can't do anything. " History ruthlessly declared the "Benevolence Plan" completely bankrupt.

After the "Benevolence Plan" went bankrupt, the Japanese military ordered the destruction of all documents on the development of atomic bombs at the end of the war in an attempt to deceive the people of the world and reduce the guilt of the war of aggression. Because of this attempt, few people outside know that Japan developed an atomic bomb during World War II.

Now there stands a tombstone in the Peace Park in Hiroshima, Japan, which reads "I hope this mistake won't happen again". How to understand the meaning of the word "error", refers to the nuclear bomb attack carried out by the United States, or refers to the war road adopted by Japan at that time? Although Japan did not have an atomic bomb, it slaughtered more than 300,000 Japanese soldiers and civilians with bayonets and rifles in a city in Nanjing, more than the total number of people killed by atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. After the war, Japan always regarded itself as the victim of a nuclear bomb attack, but denied the Nanjing Massacre and other aggression crimes in every way. Japanese right-wing forces simply don't want to reflect on the lessons of history and will be punished by history again.