Perhaps Britain needs to consider reintroduction of the death penalty for murder in furtherance of street crime. About the only way to get the attention of those murderous footpads. Works here, you can walk the streets day and night in perfect safety. You wouldn't last 10 minutes in parts of London.

Andrew Milner, Karuizawa, Japan

Those two bombs did not end the war ,it was over before they were dropped,in fact the general pleaded that they not be dropped.
The bomb was built by Canada ,Britain and America.
IT was America that decided to use it when there was no need to use it , what so ever.
Americans live in a bubble .

David, MTl, Canada

Jerry, Jerry, Jerry. Read a government sanctioned school textbook that is used in Japan. Were you still to think the official line is that they are a nation stepped in guilt, I would be very surprised. While I love Japan, some things are unjust and inhumane. The justice system is a prime example

Amy, Joetsu, Japan

In response to Chris from Newcastle...Japan did nore than sink boats and kill soldiers in war. Look into what Japan sanctioned in Korea, or China, or Manchuria, or Singapore, or Burma, or Papua NG, or the South Pacific Islands, or...well the list goes on and on. Those two bombs ended the war!

Douglas, Tampa, FL, USA

Chris, Newcastle.

Exactly. Think how nuch better it would have been if the bomb hadn't been dropped. The invasion of Japan would have cost many thousands of Allied lives. The PoW camps were lovely too, weren't they?

Those beastly Americans, eh?

Steve Roberts, Doncaster, UK

In reply to Chris: 'What they did was warfare killing soldiers and sinking boats.'

I am pretty sure thats not the way the Chinese would see it.

Have a read about the Nanking Massacre, WWII didnt just happen to the West.

Ted, Taichung,

Jerry:
Thanks for that penetrating insight into post-war Japanese society as it relates to your unusual worldview. You've obviously not heard of what they do to whales and ignored the part of the article where it mentions they've executed ten people since December. Read some history books!

Hake Binder, Den Haag, Netherlands

In reply to Scroggin: What THEY did? What they did was warfare killing soldiers and sinking boats. What America did was mass murder, dropping a bomb that wiped out two entire cities of civilians with the effect as yet lasting effect.

Chris, newcastle, uk

It's a shame the radio station can't broadcast the screams of the victims so that we can balance the debate a little! Having said that I don't agree that murderers of single victims should be executed, just in case there is an element of doubt. But did anyone really object to the hanging of Saddam?

M Graham, Auckland, New Zealand

My take on the subject is that the Japanese are still so
steeped in guilt of what they did in WII that they could
hardly bring themselves to trap a mouse much less
execute a person.

Jerry Scroggin, Phoenix, Arizona/USA