Editing Potsdam Declaration (section)

== Historical controversy ==
The Imperial Japanese Government, under the direction of prime minister Suzuki Kantarō, did not publicly entertain the possibility of surrender to the Allies.{{sfn|Hasegawa|2005|pp=184–186}} The historical controversy lies in whether or not the demand for an unconditional surrender by Japan stalled possible peace negotiations. If the demand for unconditional surrender had not been made, so the argument goes, there could be no argument for the necessity of the use of firebombing and nuclear weapons against Japan. This is the flashpoint around which much of historiographical controversy surrounding the Declaration revolves.

According to American historian [[Tsuyoshi Hasegawa]] the Japanese cabinet remained averse to surrender, and no governmental record immediately pursuant to the Little Boy nuclear detonation over Hiroshima indicates a shift toward capitulation under the terms of the Potsdam Declaration.{{sfn|Hasegawa|2005|pp=183–186}}

Hasegawa also notes that Stalin told Truman at the Potsdam Conference that the Soviet Union would begin war with Japan within the beginning of August, but that American estimates placed the estimated time at the end of the month.{{sfn|Hasegawa|2005|p=177}}