Which 1945 Allied declaration demanded Japan’s surrender and warned of “prompt and utter destruction”?

The Potsdam Declaration demanded Japan’s surrender and warned of “prompt and utter destruction.”

Issued on 26 July 1945, the declaration was released by the United States, the United Kingdom, and China during the Potsdam Conference. President Harry S. Truman, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek were associated with its issuance.

The declaration required Japan to surrender its armed forces and outlined broad postwar conditions. It called for the removal of leaders responsible for Japanese expansion, Allied occupation of selected points, disarmament, and limits on Japanese sovereignty. It did not explicitly state what would happen to Emperor Hirohito.

Japan’s government initially did not accept the declaration publicly. After the Hiroshima bombing, the Soviet declaration of war, and the Nagasaki bombing, Japan accepted its terms. The Potsdam Declaration is distinct from the Cairo Declaration, which addressed territorial aims, and the later Instrument of Surrender, which legally recorded capitulation.