Which Allied ultimatum did Japan accept in Hirohito’s August 1945 surrender broadcast?

Japan accepted the Potsdam Declaration in Hirohito’s August 1945 surrender broadcast.

The United States, the United Kingdom, and China issued the declaration on July 26, 1945, 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 outlined broad postwar terms. Japan’s sovereignty would be limited to the home islands and other islands determined by the Allies, its military would be disarmed, and its wartime leadership would be removed from power. It promised that the Japanese people would not be enslaved or destroyed as a nation.

Hirohito announced acceptance of the declaration on August 15. The announcement and the later surrender document are related but different: the declaration set the terms, while the Japanese Instrument of Surrender formally recorded Japan’s capitulation on September 2.