Potsdam Agreement

Declaration defining the terms for Japanese surrender; issued on July 26, 1945 at the last Allied conference held during World War II, from July 17, to August 2, 1945, in Potsdam (near Berlin). It was endorsed by the United States, the Soviet Union, and Great Britain. It called on Japan to surrender unconditionally or face utter destruction, and to rid itself of its militarist leaders and establish a new political order. It further stated that its military forces would be disarmed but allowed to return home, that Japanese sovereignty would be limited to the territorial borders established at the beginning of the Meiji period (1868-1912), and that Japan would be occupied by Allied forces until it had set up a democratic government. One day after the United States dropped a second atomic bomb on Japan, Japan agreed to Potsdam's terms. (adapted from Japan: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Tokyo: Kodansha, 1993)