The Potsdam Declaration was issued on July 26, 1945, as the Allied statement Japan later accepted.
The declaration was released during the Potsdam Conference near Berlin. It demanded Japan’s unconditional surrender and outlined the consequences of continued resistance, including the removal of Japanese militarism and the occupation of territory specified by the Allies.
The original declaration was issued by the United States, the United Kingdom, and China. The Soviet Union later joined the declaration after entering the war against Japan in August. Japan initially did not accept the demand, and the government debated how to respond.
The declaration is sometimes confused with the surrender broadcast or the surrender instrument. They were separate events: the declaration set out Allied terms, Hirohito’s broadcast announced acceptance, and the September 2 ceremony formalized the surrender. The document’s closing warning that Japan faced “prompt and utter destruction” became especially significant after the atomic bombings and the Soviet entry into the war.