Which three countries issued the Potsdam Declaration calling for Japan’s surrender in 1945?

The United States, United Kingdom, and China issued the Potsdam Declaration calling for Japan’s surrender in 1945.

The declaration was released on July 26, 1945, near the end of the Potsdam Conference in Germany. It demanded the unconditional surrender of Japan’s armed forces and warned of “prompt and utter destruction” if Japan refused. President Harry S. Truman, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek were associated with its issuance.

The Soviet Union did not join the declaration because it was still formally neutral in its war against Japan at that time. The Soviet Union declared war on Japan on August 8, 1945, after which Soviet forces entered the war in Northeast Asia.

The declaration outlined postwar conditions, including Japan’s disarmament, occupation by Allied forces, and limitation of Japanese sovereignty to the home islands and other territories determined by the Allies. Japan later accepted its terms, and the Instrument of Surrender incorporated them into the formal capitulation.