which important war conference demanded the unconditional surrender of japan
Surrender of Japan The surrender of Imperial Japan was announced on August 15 and formally signed on September 2, 1945, bringing the hostilities of World War II to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) was incapable of conducting major operations and an Allied invasion of Japan was imminent. Together with the British Empire and China, the United States called for the unconditional surrender of the Japanese armed forces in the Potsdam Declaration on July 26, 1945—the alternative being "prompt and utter destruction". While publicly stating their intent to fight on to the bitter end, Japan's leaders (the Supreme Council for the Direction of the War, also known as the "Big Six") were privately making entreaties to the still-neutral Soviet Union to mediate peace on terms more favorable to the Japanese. Meanwhile, the Soviets were preparing to attack Japanese forces in Manchuria and Korea (in addition to South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands) in fulfillment of promises they had secretly made to the United States and the United Kingdom at the Tehran and Yalta Conferences.
Japan–United States relations Japan–United States relations (日米関係) began in the late 18th and early 19th century, with the diplomatic but force-backed missions of U.S. ship captains James Glynn and Matthew C. Perry to the Tokugawa shogunate being of particular importance. The countries maintained relatively cordial relations after that, and Japanese immigration to the United States was prominent until the 20th century, up until the 1930s, when Japanese actions during the Second Sino-Japanese War caused the United States to impose harsh sanctions against Japan, ultimately leading to the Japanese surprise attack against the US naval base at Pearl Harbor, opening the Pacific War theater of World War II. The United States and its Allies ultimately defeated Japan, and war ended with the American atomic bombings of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan surrendered, and was subjected to seven years of military occupation by the United States, during which the American occupiers helped rebuild the country, shared American technology, and carried out widespread political and economic reforms so as to transform Japan into a democracy and a potential bulwark against Communism. Following the end of the occupation, the countries' relationship prospered again. A new military alliance treaty, an exchange of technology and culture produced a strong alliance. The countries' trade relationship has particularly prospered since then, with Japanese automobiles and consumer electronics being especially popular.