The Potsdam Declaration demanding Japan’s surrender was issued on July 26, 1945.
The declaration came from the United States, the United Kingdom, and China during the Potsdam Conference near Berlin. It called for Japan to surrender its armed forces and warned of consequences if Japan refused. The Soviet Union did not initially sign the declaration because it was still neutral in the war against Japan at that moment.
Japan did not immediately accept the declaration. The Japanese government’s response was interpreted by the Allies as a rejection, and the war continued into August. The United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, while the Soviet Union entered the war against Japan on August 9.
Japan ultimately accepted the declaration’s terms in August, subject to conditions involving the emperor’s position. Hirohito’s surrender broadcast on August 15 announced that the government had accepted the terms, and the formal instrument was signed on September 2.