When did the Potsdam Declaration demanding Japan’s surrender appear in 1945?

The Potsdam Declaration demanding Japan’s surrender appeared on July 26, 1945.

The United States, the United Kingdom, and China issued the declaration during the Potsdam Conference. It called for Japan’s unconditional surrender and warned of “prompt and utter destruction” if Japan refused. The Soviet Union was not initially a signatory because it was still neutral toward Japan at that moment.

Japan’s leaders did not immediately accept the declaration. The situation changed after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, the Soviet declaration of war, and the bombing of Nagasaki. On August 10, Japan communicated its willingness to accept the terms, subject to preserving the Emperor’s status, and later accepted the Allied conditions.

The declaration is sometimes confused with the Japanese Instrument of Surrender. The Potsdam Declaration stated Allied demands; the Instrument of Surrender, signed on September 2, 1945, recorded Japan’s formal capitulation.