The Potsdam Declaration was issued on July 26, 1945, calling for Japan’s surrender in World War II.
The declaration set out Allied terms for ending the war with Japan and warned that refusal would bring “prompt and utter destruction.” It required the unconditional surrender of Japanese armed forces and described the occupation and political restructuring that would follow defeat.
The United States, the United Kingdom, and China issued the declaration. It was connected with the Potsdam Conference, held near Berlin after Germany’s defeat. Soviet leader Joseph Stalin did not initially sign it because the Soviet Union was not yet formally at war with Japan, though the Soviet Union later joined the declaration after entering the conflict.
Japan did not immediately accept the ultimatum. After the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Soviet declaration of war, the Japanese government accepted its terms in August. The acceptance led to the emperor’s broadcast and, later, the formal surrender ceremony.