On 26 July 1945 , United States President Harry S. Truman , United Kingdom Prime Minister Winston Churchill , and Chairman of the Chinese Nationalist Government Chiang Kai-shek issued the Potsdam Declaration , which outlined the terms of surrender for the Empire of Japan as agreed upon at the Potsdam Conference . This ultimatum stated if Japan did not surrender , it would face " prompt and utter destruction " . Some debaters focus on the presidential decision-making process , and others on whether or not the bombings were the proximate cause of Japanese surrender
Potsdam Conference
Potsdam Conference
Debate over the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki