Which Allied declaration set the terms Japan accepted before its formal surrender in 1945?

The Potsdam Declaration set the terms Japan accepted before its formal surrender in 1945.

Issued on 26 July 1945, the declaration was released by the United States, the United Kingdom, and China during the Potsdam Conference. It called for the unconditional surrender of Japan’s armed forces and warned of “prompt and utter destruction” if Japan refused.

The declaration also described postwar objectives. Japan’s militarism was to be removed, its armed forces disarmed, and its sovereignty limited to territories specified by the Allies. It promised that Japanese people would not be enslaved as a nation and that democratic tendencies would be encouraged.

The document did not specifically identify the future status of Emperor Hirohito, an omission that complicated Japanese decision-making. Japan eventually accepted the terms after the atomic bombings, the Soviet entry into the war against Japan, and internal political deliberations. The acceptance was announced on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September.