The earliest surrender request wasn't merely just for the emperor to stay in power. Japan also wanted to keep the territories they had acquired and manage all p

The earliest surrender request wasn't merely just for the emperor to stay in power. Japan also wanted to keep the territories they had acquired and manage all post-war trials of the military in-house. Any American general or politician that agreed to these terms would have been seen as a fool or a coward, especially after Pearl Harbor, Bataan, Singapore, etc.