Talk politics.

They were very likely right to anticipate that, too. Even assuming Japan has a messy collapse analogous to late World War I Russia Japanese troops had a well-deserved reputation for prolonging battles long past the point a Western army would have cut its losses and retreat. Given like Fall Zitadelle both sides knew well where the attacks would fall the results would be a grotesque national last act for Imperial Japan and possibly a social upheaval akin to 1871 France.

The postwar era would be far, far messier.