The atomic bombings in Japan at Hiroshima on 6 August 1945, followed by that of Nagasaki on 9 August, precipitated the abrupt end of the war. On 15 August 1945, Japan announced its official unconditional surrender to the Allied Powers. On 24 August, Suga officially announced to the prisoners at Batu Lintang that Japan had surrendered.Bell 113; Ooi 1998, 618; Keith 182. Although sources vary, the most likely date appears to be 24 August Suga was a broken man: he believed that his entire family had been killed in the bombing of Hiroshima.Bell 113; Keith 206, Southwell 159 In fact, his wife and three of his children survived the bombing though his sister Teru and brother-in-law Tamekichi Tanaka as well as his son Makoto were killed.Southwell 368Hoshino 405
