The Potsdam Declaration was a statement issued on July 26, 1945, by the governments of the United States, the United Kingdom, and China, later joined by the Soviet Union. This declaration outlined the terms for the unconditional surrender of Japan at the end of World War II.
Following the defeat of Nazi Germany, the focus of the Allied Powers shifted towards ending the war in the Pacific. Leaders from the United States (Harry S. Truman), the United Kingdom (Winston Churchill, later Clement Attlee), and China (Chiang Kai-shek) met at the Potsdam Conference in Germany to discuss post-war arrangements and the ongoing conflict with Japan. The Soviet Union, although not initially involved, eventually joined the declaration after their entry into the war against Japan on August 8, 1945.
The Potsdam Declaration was delivered to Japan through neutral channels, but the initial response from the Japanese government was not a surrender but rather a counter-proposal known as the Mokusatsu statement, which was ambiguously interpreted and essentially ignored the ultimatum. This response, or lack thereof, was one of the factors leading to the decision to use atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
After the atomic bombings and the Soviet entry into the war, Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945, effectively accepting the terms of the Potsdam Declaration. The formal signing of the instrument of surrender occurred on September 2, 1945, aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.
The Potsdam Declaration had lasting impacts: