The Allied powers issued the Potsdam Declaration on July 26, 1945.
The declaration was released during the Potsdam Conference near Berlin. The United States, the United Kingdom, and China demanded Japan’s unconditional surrender and warned that refusal would bring “prompt and utter destruction.” The Soviet Union did not initially sign the declaration because it was still neutral toward Japan at that point.
The declaration outlined broad Allied aims, including the elimination of Japanese militarism, the limitation of Japanese sovereignty, the disarmament of Japanese forces, and the prosecution of war criminals. It also promised that the Japanese people would not be permanently enslaved or destroyed.
Japan’s government did not immediately accept the declaration. After the Hiroshima bombing, the Soviet declaration of war, the invasion of Manchuria, and the Nagasaki bombing, Japan accepted its terms in August. Hirohito announced that decision on August 15.