What Allied declaration did Japan accept in August 1945?

Japan accepted the Potsdam Declaration in August 1945.

Issued on July 26, 1945, the declaration set out Allied terms for Japan's surrender. The United States, the United Kingdom, and China called on Japan to surrender its armed forces and warned of “prompt and utter destruction” if it refused. The document also described future limits on Japanese sovereignty, demilitarization, punishment of war criminals, and the establishment of democratic freedoms.

The declaration was associated with the Potsdam Conference near Berlin, where Allied leaders were discussing the postwar order after Germany's defeat. The Soviet Union did not initially sign it because it was not yet at war with Japan, but it later agreed to adhere to the declaration after entering the conflict.

Japan's acceptance was announced by Hirohito on August 15. The declaration is sometimes confused with the Cairo Declaration, which was issued in 1943 and addressed broader Allied aims in East Asia. The later formal surrender document recorded Japan's capitulation rather than serving as the original demand for surrender.