After the devastating bombings at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the leadership of Japanese Emperor Hirohito was put to the test.

FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. But if you see something that doesn't look right, contact us!

RELATED CONTENT

On July 3, 1987, 42 years after dropping the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Enola Gay pilot Paul Tibbets recalls his mindset during the fateful mission on August 6, 1945.

Watch actual footage of the first atomic bomb being prepared by U.S. engineers in 1945.

In his radio address to the American people, on August 9, 1945, President Harry Truman speaks about the Hiroshima bombing, and reasserts his threat to use additional atomic bombs against Japan until it surrenders.

On September 26, 1971, President Richard Nixon welcomed Japan's Emperor Hirohito to the United States for what was the first meeting in history between the emperor of Japan and the president of the United States. Following Nixon's introduction, Hirohito expresses his gratitude for America's assistance in helping to rebuild Japan after World War II.

In August 1945, the United States dropped two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. What happened to people on the fringes of the blasts?