“It may be inappropriate to put it in this way, but the atomic bombs and the Soviet entry into the war are, in a sense, God's gifts. Now we can end the war without making it clear that we have to end the war because of the domestic situation. I have long been advocating the conclusion [of the war], not because I am afraid of the enemy's attacks or because of the atomic bombs or the Soviet participation in the war; The most important reason is my concern over the domestic situation.”

Quoted in "A-bombs were 'God's gifts' to Japanese regime", Taipei Times (August 7, 2005).

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Mitsumasa Yonai 6
Prime Minister of Japan 1880–1948

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