The Potsdam Declaration was the Allied ultimatum issued on 26 July 1945 that demanded Japan’s surrender and threatened “prompt and utter destruction.”
The declaration was issued by the United States, the United Kingdom, and China during the Potsdam Conference near Berlin. It described the conditions for ending the war with Japan, including the removal of militarism, occupation of Japanese territory, and prosecution of war criminals.
Japan initially rejected the declaration’s demand for surrender. After the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Soviet declaration of war, Japanese leaders accepted its terms, subject to preserving the Emperor’s position. The Allies accepted that interpretation while retaining ultimate authority over Japan.
The Potsdam Declaration is often confused with the Cairo Declaration of 1943, which outlined broader Allied aims concerning Japanese-occupied territories. The later Potsdam text directly set out the surrender terms accepted by Japan in August 1945.