Was the use of the atomic bomb against Japan justified?

[Selatius]

100. The thing about the Shogunate era.

Japan's population throughout that era was a fraction of what it was by the 1940s. They were no longer self-sufficient as far as food production by World War 2, and they didn't have access to oil to run their machinery due to the naval blockade. They were dying of starvation and were getting to the point of being unable to mass produce weapons due to lack of fuel and electricity.

The peace feelers that were sent out were sent to Moscow because the USSR didn't sign the Potsdam Declaration. That ended when war was declared by Moscow on 8 August 1945. With the very real possibility of a Soviet land invasion through Manchuria and the Korean peninsula, all hope of bringing any Japanese reinforcements on the Chinese mainland back to Japan were essentially gone. Coupled with the American naval blockade, the only variable left was time.

As an aside, I generally do think the atom bombs were also somewhat meant as a show of force to Stalin as well. By that time, Stalin was likely getting intelligence on American progress on the bomb and information they would need to hasten their own bomb program.