Basically, I'm interested in how the power struggle between the military hardliner faction and the more moderate faction (which eventually received Hirohito's backing) would have played out in the event of Hirohito's death. So the premise holds that Hiroshima and Nagasaki have been hit with atomic bombs, and Hirohito dies of natural causes a few minutes after Nagasaki is hit.
Would Japan still pursue a course of unconditional surrender, or would they choose more drastic action without Hirohito being there to call it quits?