Did Americans know or believe that the Japanese were planning to surrender when the bombs were dropped, or only after the fact? That’s important because the Japanese didn’t even entertain the idea of surrender in July (Potsdam Declaration).

Because the Japanese were still fighting, the wartime economy was still trying to produce what it could, and the Japanese government was arming and instructing its civilians for fighting.

Post-surrender, it’s easy to say “we were planning to surrender”, especially to save face and pass the buck to the Americans for what the Japanese government brought on their people by continuing to prosecute the war effort.