Kyūshū was the target of the planned Allied invasion Operation Olympic.
Olympic was the first phase of Operation Downfall, the proposed invasion of Japan’s home islands. It was scheduled to begin on November 1, 1945, with Allied forces landing on and attempting to secure the southern portion of Kyūshū, Japan’s southernmost main island.
The operation was designed to seize airfields and territory that could support the later invasion of Honshu. Okinawa, captured by the United States in June 1945 after a devastating battle, was intended to serve as a major staging area for Olympic’s forces.
Olympic was not an operation against the entire island. Planners focused on southern Kyūshū, where beaches and nearby terrain offered possible landing areas. The operation was canceled after Japan accepted the Allied terms. Operation Coronet, the second phase of Downfall, would have targeted the Kantō Plain on Honshu near Tokyo.