Which Allied declaration did Japan accept when Emperor Hirohito announced surrender in August 1945?

Japan accepted the Potsdam Declaration when Emperor Hirohito announced surrender in August 1945.

The declaration was issued on 26 July 1945 by the United States, the United Kingdom, and China. It demanded Japan’s unconditional surrender and outlined broad Allied aims, including the removal of Japanese militarism and the limitation of Japanese sovereignty to specified home islands.

Japan initially rejected the declaration publicly. After the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Soviet Union’s entry into the war against Japan, the Japanese government accepted its terms. Hirohito’s 15 August broadcast announced that acceptance to the Japanese public.

The Potsdam Declaration is sometimes confused with the Cairo Declaration, issued in 1943, which set out Allied goals for territories taken by Japan. The later Potsdam text was the immediate surrender ultimatum. Its terms shaped the legal and political framework for the Allied occupation of Japan.