On the one hand, he was extremely dedicated to achieving unconditional surrender. On the other hand, he was more willing to work with Stalin (afaik) than Truman, and Byrnes would never have become Secretary of State. Would FDR living to the end of WW2 have changed the outcome of the war with Japan?
they should've executed the emperor though. :sicko-wistful:
I haven't fully read this yet, but Tsuyoshi Hasegawa makes the point that once the Soviets invaded, suddenly surrender to the US looked a lot more inviting because of the Japanese leadership's fear of communism sweeping away the imperial institution. They thought the Americans would be much more likely to allow them to keep the emperor in place.