Which 1945 declaration did Japan accept before announcing its World War II surrender?

Japan accepted the Potsdam Declaration before announcing its World War II surrender.

The declaration was issued on July 26, 1945, by the United States, the United Kingdom, and China. It demanded Japan’s unconditional surrender and outlined broad Allied aims, including the elimination of Japanese militarism and the occupation of Japanese territory needed to secure those objectives.

The declaration warned Japan of “prompt and utter destruction” if it refused. After the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Soviet Union’s entry into the war, Japan accepted the declaration’s terms. Emperor Hirohito announced that decision in his August 15 radio address.

The Potsdam Declaration was not itself the final surrender document. The Japanese Instrument of Surrender was signed later, on September 2, aboard USS Missouri. The Cairo Declaration of 1943 also addressed Allied goals concerning Japan, but it was a separate wartime statement and not the document Japan formally accepted in August 1945.