Hiroshima & Nagasaki: opinion on justification, by party 2020

According to a 2020 survey, roughly two thirds of Republicans and just one quarter of Democrats believed that the United States' decision to use nuclear weapons against the Empire of Japan during the Second World War was the correct decision. 38 percent of Independents believed the attack to the be right decision.

U.S. public opinion on whether the atomic attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were right or wrong in 2020, by political affiliation

Characteristic	Right	Wrong	Don't know
All adults	39%	33%	28%
Democrat	26%	43%	31%
Republican	64%	17%	20%
Independent	38%	35%	27%
Other	44%	33%	23%
Not sure	15%	25%	61%

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Release date

August 2020

More information

Region

United States

Survey time period

August 6 to 7, 2020

Number of respondents

6,313 respondents

Age group

18 years and older

Method of interview

Online interview

Supplementary notes

Original question: "On August 6, 1945, the US dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. On August 9, a second atomic bomb was dropped, over Nagasaki. Do you think the decision to use nuclear weapons in Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II was right or wrong?"

Figures may not total 100% due to rounding.

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