Kantarō Suzuki was Japan’s prime minister when the government decided to accept the Allied surrender terms in August 1945.
Suzuki became prime minister in April 1945, during the final phase of World War II. His cabinet faced the destruction caused by Allied bombing, the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the Soviet Union’s entry into the war against Japan.
The Supreme Council for the Direction of the War remained divided over whether to accept the Potsdam Declaration. Emperor Hirohito intervened in the deadlock and supported surrender. Suzuki then helped guide the cabinet through the decision, although military hardliners continued to resist the emperor’s wishes.
Suzuki resigned on 17 August 1945, shortly after Hirohito’s broadcast. He was succeeded by Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni. Suzuki should not be confused with Hideki Tōjō, who had been prime minister earlier in the war and left office in 1944.