“Conversely, I can absolutely see it. Japanese patriotism was (and is) very high. I could see them starving and using their last breath to attack an “invading” army.”
Sure, it was very strong. That’s why they lasted as long as they did. Things tend to fall apart very quickly though - like Germany in 1918, and they actually won the war against Russia! Nobody lasts forever, and the Japanese are included in this.
The Japanese people were shocked by the surrender.
Heck some officials tried to STOP the surrender, pretty much attempting a coup to keep it from being broadcast
European mindset vs Asian mindset.
Two very different animals. The Asian mindset is an ancient one that most of us don’t understand.
It reminds me of the Masada. It matters not if they committed suicide or were slaughtered. Some people do not have surrender in their vocabulary....or know what that means.
After reading the comments by Ike, I can see that you might concur. But Ike dealt with a completely different situation.