noboritosensei comments

First, a brief summary of the situation toward the end of the Pacific War. Japan and (primarily) America had just finished a hard-fought battle for Okinawa in which thousands on both sides had been killed, maimed, or injured. The next step was battles for Kyushu, or Honshu. Tokyo and the other major cities throughout Japan were in nearly total destruction. The people in Japan were nearly starving. It would have taken up to 6 months to gather the men, ships, aircraft and supplies befor America would be prepared for the next big invasion. In the mean time, america would have continued the bombing and the Japanese people would have continued starving. The European war was over, and the Soviet Union was moving its troops to Siberia in preparation of an invasion of Hokaido or northern Japan. The Soviet Union could have started its invasion of Japan while America was still getting ready. If the war had not ended before the Soviet Unions invasion of Japan, northern Japan would be speaking Russian now.

The situation(s) was extreme all the way around on all sides. There were rumors that at least of the some in the Japanese leadership were ready for surrender, but no one could be sure of the validity of the rumors. One could only imagine how many more Japanese people would die while America was getting ready. And how many Japanese and American would have died if America had had to invade Kyushu or Honshu. War is Hell, and there are no easy answers.