It seems to me that you think they did not need to be forced to surrender at all. Had we simply left them all on their islands to do what they want they could have built more planes, more ships, and possibly an atomic device of their own. Forcing them to surrender was quite necessary to protect American lives. Had we simply blockaded the islands, they would have attacked our ships. They were training their citizens to use hand guided torpedoes that swimmers would guide into our ships. They had many of their remaining planes ready for kamikaze missions. Had we not blockaded the islands and simply went home, they could have launched more attacks on us than if we did blockade them, and they would be on our turf, not theirs. If this is not what you meant, than please explain.

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"The raw fact is that every successful example of economic development this past century--every case of a poor nation that worked its way up to a more or less decent, or at least dramatically better, standard of living--has taken place via globalization; that is, by producing for the world market rather than trying for self-sufficiency."

-- Paul Krugman