Hank, I totally agree with you. Also it saved huge numbers of both American and Japanese lives.
Admiral Nimitz's staff planning the attack on the homeland islands of Japan estimated that 5 million allied soldiers would be killed or wounded if such an attack had to be carried out. I read this figure in an oral history of one of the naval officers who was on his staff. The book transcribed from the tapes is available in the Naval Academy Library, Special Collections. I transcribed the tapes. This was about 30 years ago and I cannot remember the name of the officer.
There are other estimates that range all over the place.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Downfall#Estimated_casualties
This says nothing about how many millions of Japanese civilians would have been killed in the fighting and bombing.
Here is one estimation:
HadOlympiccome about, the Japanese civilian population, inflamed by a national slogan - "One Hundred Million Will Die for the Emperor and Nation" - were prepared to fight to the death. Twenty Eight Million Japanese had become a part of the National Volunteer Combat Force. They were armed with ancient rifles, lunge mines, satchel charges, Molotov cocktails and one-shot black powder mortars. Others were armed with swords, long bows, axes and bamboo spears. The civilian units were to be used in nighttime attacks, hit and run maneuvers, delaying actions and massive suicide charges at the weaker American positions.
http://www.kilroywashere.org/006-Pages/Invasion.html
Also, many condemn Nagasaka and Hiroshims but say nothing about the fire bombing of Tokyo. That raid and resulting fire killed more Japanese than the A bombs.
U.S. warplanes launch a new bombing offensive against Japan, dropping 2,000 tons of incendiary bombs on Tokyo over the course of the next 48 hours. Almost 16 square miles in and around the Japanese capital were incinerated, and between 80,000 and 130,000 Japanese civilians were killed in the worst single firestorm in recorded history.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/firebombing-of-tokyo