Which 26 July 1945 Allied statement demanded Japan's surrender before V-J Day?

The Potsdam Declaration was the 26 July 1945 Allied statement that demanded Japan's surrender. The United States, the United Kingdom, and China issued it during the Potsdam Conference.

The declaration called for the unconditional surrender of all Japanese armed forces and warned of “prompt and utter destruction” if Japan refused. It also described postwar goals, including disarmament, punishment of war criminals, and the removal of militarist influence from Japanese public life.

The Soviet Union did not sign the declaration because it was still formally neutral in its war with Japan. After Hiroshima, the Soviet declaration of war, and the bombing of Nagasaki, Japan accepted the declaration's terms, subject to a condition concerning the emperor. The surrender announcement and the later Instrument of Surrender made the declaration central to the legal and political end of the Pacific War.