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Originally Posted by Trollheart
Yeah but I disagree with you both. The Allies wanted unconditional surrender, and the Japanese military command were worried that this might not exclude the execution of the emperor. As he was/is seen as divine, this would be the ultimate humilation and they vowed to fight on (or, more accurately, have their people fight on) to the end. They were definitely preparing to meet a US invasion; they were training civilians in the art of laying down their lives for the emperor.
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Again, the military wanted to keep going - even after surrender, many of them committed suicide on the spot because they were so ashamed. Aside from the military, Japan knew they were done in the days leading up to the bomb being dropped. The political leaders were essentially begging the Soviet Union to act as a middle-man to broker a peace with the allies. After the Soviets declared war on them ending their neutrality pact in an effort to secure an unconditional surrender, essentially the ONLY concession they wanted was for the imperial family to live. Truman just wasn't having it.