"Talk to folks of this generation - particularly those who served in the armed forces and who were slated to go overseas (My Grandfather too!) - and you won't find much sympathetic talk. I read "Semper Fi, Mac" - an oral history of the Pacific conflict - and found that (while the language was pretty salty, as befitting Marines) it was pretty insightful as to what people who were actually there, thought."
The Japanese were very lucky that they were not facing a foe who was devoted to the Bushido way, otherwise their surrender would have been an invitation for us to perform death marches and to behead people with samurai swords.
Yup. Ironic that their surrender likely saved their culture, where fighting on would have likely destroyed it entirely.
The Germans were good fighters, but they knew when they were beat. The Japanese, not so much.