The Allies issued the Potsdam Declaration demanding Japan’s surrender on July 26, 1945.
The declaration was released during the Potsdam Conference near Berlin. It was issued by the United States, the United Kingdom, and China, whose leaders called for Japan to surrender unconditionally or face “prompt and utter destruction.” The Soviet Union did not sign it at that time because it was still neutral toward Japan.
Japan’s government did not immediately accept the declaration. Prime Minister Kantarō Suzuki publicly used the term mokusatsu, often translated as ignoring or rejecting the declaration, although the word’s precise meaning remains debated by historians.
The atomic bombings, the Soviet declaration of war, and internal Japanese political debate followed in August. Japan eventually accepted the Potsdam terms, with the status of the emperor addressed through the surrender process. The declaration thus formed the diplomatic framework for the surrender announced in August and signed in September.