Making diplomatic feelers may be "seeking peace," but they wanted it on their terms. The U.S. made it clear: no terms but ours. At that point, the war had gone on too long and too viciously. It was either surrender or die. And it took two bombs to get their attention to the fact that they could die WITHOUT HONOR.

I will admit, I didn't make that capitalized connection until just now. The Japanese were willing to sacrifice every last man to heroic resistance. But to die in swathes like grass burned away from a fire...there would be no honor in that. In being turned into cooked sausage in the blink of an eye, irresistible. Worse, even, than fire-bombing.

I don't give the Japanese any credit or charity for "seeking peace." They should have sought peace before they conceived of their plan of conquest, rape, and pillage. Some elements of Hitler's government were also "seeking peace" through diplomatic footsie by undelegated persons. Meaningless, excusing nothing.

In the end, the Japanese surrendered without terms, their worst imaginable fate, and it turned out better than anyone could have imagined (after MacArthur's post-war governorship).