What Allied proclamation issued on July 26, 1945, demanded Japan’s surrender?

The Potsdam Declaration, issued on July 26, 1945, demanded Japan’s surrender.

The proclamation was issued by the United States, the United Kingdom, and China during the Potsdam Conference. It set out the conditions under which Japan was expected to end the war and warned that refusal would bring “prompt and utter destruction.”

The declaration called for the disarmament of Japanese forces, the removal of leaders associated with militarism, and the limitation of Japanese sovereignty to the home islands and other islands designated by the Allies. It also stated that the terms of the Cairo Declaration would be carried out.

Japan did not immediately accept the proclamation. The government later accepted its terms in August 1945, after the atomic bombings, the Soviet declaration of war, internal political debate, and the Emperor’s intervention. The Potsdam Declaration was not itself the final surrender document; that was signed aboard USS Missouri.