I admit that I don't know a great deal about the Soviet angle, but it doesn't seem to logically fit. By that I mean: why would the Japanese be more afraid of a

I admit that I don't know a great deal about the Soviet angle, but it doesn't seem to logically fit. By that I mean: why would the Japanese be more afraid of a Soviet invasion than an American invasion? I know that Japanese soldiers had been trained to believe that Americans would retreat in the face of Japanese force, and that the Japanese had a pretty negative experience in dealing with the Soviet military. But I'd think that by the end of the Pacific war the Japanese would have been keenly aware of the fact that the Americans were not running away - they preparing to invade the homeland. The only way I can logically fit the Soviet angle in is if Japan thought that they might be able to divide the Allies with a Soviet peace treaty. It would have been a real long shot, but not uncharacteristic of them at that time.