“The first thing I remember was my mother’s face and my grandmother's face: they both tried desperately to protect me.” Yoshikazu Hamada’s memories of the USA’s first attack on Japan's civilian population reveal the long-lasting effects of the war’s cruelties. Over 100,000 civilians were killed in the firebombing of Tokyo; others remember the US invasion of Okinawa where another 150,000 civilians perished. Eighty years on, survivors continue to share their painful memories of the war. Nobuaki Muraoka fears the Japanese government will never apologise: “The Japanese government is waiting for all of us to die”. These last survivors are angry Japan refuses to accept responsibility for the needless harm it caused its own people by not surrendering sooner. Why haven't civilians received a special pension, compensation, or even an apology? Shizuoka University Professor Mordechai Sheftall explains that an admission of Japan’s faults “would impugn the person of the emperor and the institution of the imperial throne” — a risk too great, even in 2025.