Which Allied declaration did Japan accept before ending World War II?

Japan accepted the Potsdam Declaration before ending World War II. Issued on July 26, 1945, the declaration demanded Japan’s unconditional surrender and outlined the Allies’ broad conditions for the postwar settlement.

The statement was issued by the United States, the United Kingdom, and China while Allied leaders were meeting in Potsdam, Germany. The Soviet Union joined the declaration after entering the war against Japan. Its final warning promised “prompt and utter destruction” if Japan refused to surrender.

Japan’s government formally communicated its acceptance in August, with Emperor Hirohito announcing the decision to the Japanese public on August 15. The declaration later served as the basis for the Allied occupation and postwar reforms in Japan. A common mix-up is to confuse it with the Cairo Declaration of 1943, which dealt with wartime aims in Asia but was not the document Japan accepted as its surrender terms.