Japan was run by the Emperor and a six person cabinet; the military held half the cabinet seats. The Emperor didn't rule the cabinet, and thus the country; the

Japan was run by the Emperor and a six person cabinet; the military held half the cabinet seats. The Emperor didn't rule the cabinet, and thus the country; the group governed by internal consensus. Even after the atomic bombs were dropped, the military half of the cabinet would not accept unconditional surrender; the Emperor and civilian half would have accepted surrender much earlier, but feared the military would simply seize control, as had happened many times before in Japanese history. And even after the Emperor forced the decision in cabinet to accept surrender, there was an attempted coup by parts of the military. Japanese obstinacy was driven mainly by a kind of hybrid fascist/bushido doctrine that dominated the Japanese military starting in the 20s.