| The Japanese war cabinet, (in effect, the government) intentionally ignored the surrender demands sent by the Allies. Yes, they were indeed hoping to make contact through the Russians, but in the end, the surrender demands that had been made were not acceptable to the Japanese. The feelers that they were sending to the Americans were totally unacceptable to the Allies, and the Allied High Command knew it. They were asking for, among other things:
- officers keep their swords and sidearms
- no US troops on the Japanese home islands
- the post war government supervised by the US, but put in place by the Japanese
- the emperor keeps his status and could not be tried for war crimes.
The last one was the stickler. The Americans, who did not understand the Japanese government, were convinced that the emperor was responisble for the war. He was not, but the Japanese did not even want him tried. As it was, he was (if memory serves) investigated and quickly cleared, and that was a great relief to the Japanese. But in the end, the so-called mis-translation was totally irrelevant, and the Allies had sent a surrender demand with a deadline, and the Japanese intentionally missed it. As a result, the bombs were dropped.
Dean. |