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Originally Posted by Torplexed
The first of many misconceptions surrounding the last days of the Pacific War is the notion that news of Hiroshima and Nagasaki promptly led to surrender. Japan's militarists, in fact immediately began discrediting President Truman's claim that very day that an atomic bomb had destroyed Hiroshima even with the overwhelming evidence to the contrary. The tiny Japanese atomic program may had provided them with no weapon, but it did arm them with the knowledge of the incredible difficulty of manufacturing fissionable material. Thus, Japanese officers immediately declared that whatever had struck Hiroshima could not be an atomic bomb. Admiral Toyoda advanced the idea that even if the US possessed atomic weapons it couldn't have that many and that international opinion would deter their further use. This unreal mental attitude among Japan's militarists with a flattened city in front of them pretty much puts to rest the idea that 'demonstrating' the bomb on a desert island would have ever induced a bloodless surrender.
Why did the Emperor finally step in to halt the war? He consistently gave three reasons when asked about his decision. One was his loss of faith in the Imperial Army staff. (finally!) A second was his deep fear that Japan's civil order would finally crack under endless bombardment and blockade. He also cited the atomic bomb. Even then the Emperor's intervention was not enough to guarantee that Japan's armed forces would surrender. For the overseas commands it was the looming threat of Soviet intervention that compelled them to finally comply with the order from Tokyo.
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Nevertheless the atomic bomb did factor in the decision of the only person whose opinions actually counted in that system. As for the Imperial forces outside of Japan they were not going to be able to effect an invasion of the home islands one way or the other.
But yeah there were those among the Imperial General staff that wanted to continue the war down to the last bullet and last Japanese life. Had we been forced to invade it would have been a very bloody affair indeed.