Potsdam Declaration

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The Potsdam Declaration or the Proclamation Defining Terms for Japanese Surrender (not to be confused with the Potsdam Agreement) was a statement issued on July 26, 1945 by Harry S Truman, Winston Churchill, and Chiang Kai-Shek which outlined the terms of surrender for Japan as agreed upon at the Potsdam Conference. The agreement stated that if Japan did not surrender, it would face "prompt and utter destruction."

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The proclamation stated that the full force of the United States, the British Empire, and China would strike the final blows upon Japan. They warned that "The might that now converges on Japan is immeasurably greater than that which, when applied to the resisting Nazis, necessarily laid waste to the lands, the industry and the method of life of the whole German people" and this power of the Allies would lead to "the inevitable and complete destruction of the Japanese armed forces and just as inevitably the utter devastation of the Japanese homeland" unless Japan ended the war. Also that:

  • Militarism in Japan must end.
  • Japan would be occupied until the basic objectives set out in this proclamation were met.
  • The terms of the Cairo Declaration would be carried out and Japanese sovereignty would be limited to the islands of Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, Shikoku and such minor islands as the Allies determined.
  • Japanese army would be completely disarmed and allowed to return home.
  • Those who had led Japan to war must be permanently and finally discredited, and abandoned.
  • War criminals would be punished including those who had "visited cruelties upon our prisoners". Freedom of speech, of religion, and of thought, as well as respect for the fundamental human rights shall be established.
  • Japan should be permitted to maintain a viable industrial economy but not industries which would enable her to re-arm for war.
  • The treaty was not intended to enslave Japanese as a race or as a nation.
  • Allied forces would be withdrawn from Japan as soon as these objectives have been accomplished
  • "We call upon the government of Japan to proclaim now the unconditional surrender of all Japanese armed forces, and to provide proper and adequate assurances of their good faith in such action. The alternative for Japan is prompt and utter destruction."

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