I've been thinking about this for quite some time. But I cannot come up with a satisfying answer. USA almost wiped Japan out, not just with 2 atomic bombs, but with ordinary B-29 bombings, as shown in this map. Today, the two countries are very close to each other, if not "like brothers".
On the other hand, Russia (or Soviets) and the USA were never in an actual war, other than the "cold" war. Still, the USA is terrified of Russia. Hollywood still stinks propaganda against Soviets and Russia. The two countries still dislike each other very clearly.
Can you please explain? How can Japan be so forgiving, if this is about forgiveness? What historical events lead to this friendship in just a few decades?
Thanks.
The reason why is actually pretty simple. WWII was a total war. The Cold War wasn't. A total war means enemies fight each other until unconditional surrender. We did not fight just to reach a compromise with Nazi Germany or Imperial Japan to stop fighting - Japan actually tried to surrender a few times before the atomic bombs. We fought in order to completely wipe out the governments of Nazi Germany an Imperial Japan and destroy what made them possible to exist - this is only possible under conditional surrender in which we can take over the country and reshape it the way we want it. After WWII, Germany was split among US, Britain, France, and USSR but Japan was occupied solely by the U.S. because the other European powers weren't really involved in the Pacific theater.
Thus we the U.S. had to develop a very close relationship with Japan since we occupied it and reconstructed it. We got rid of the military, made it a democracy, and broke up giant conglomerates. We needed Japan as an ally during the Cold War too. They were the US's only influence in Asia. We kept a military there and used Japan as a launching pad for war units during the Korean and Vietnam Wars.
In summation, we destroyed their government and replaced it with a government that we wanted and that we could be allied with for the Cold War. Nothing of this sort happened with Russia after the Cold War.
Source: McClain, James L. Japan: A Modern History
