Office of the Historian

740.00119 P.W./8–1545: Telegram

The Ambassador in the Soviet Union (Harriman) to the Secretary of State
Moscow, 15 August, 1945.

M25313. Molotov requested me to call this evening. He read to me the following statement:

“In the declaration of the Japanese Government to the Governments of the United States of America, the Soviet Union, Great Britain and China dated August 14, it is stated that in connection with the issuance of a rescript by the Japanese Emperor concerning the acceptance by Japan of the conditions of the Potsdam Declaration Japan was prepared to issue orders to all military, naval and air authorities of Japan and to all the armed forces under their jurisdiction, wherever they might be, to cease military operations and to surrender their arms.

The rescript of the Japanese Emperor published at noon August 1598 contains no order, as mentioned in the Declaration of the Japanese Government of August 15.99 This rescript is only a declaration of a general character.

The Soviet Government considers it necessary to take urgent measures for the immediate issuance of a rescript by the Japanese Emperor which will contain an order to all the Japanese armed forces, where-ever they might be, to cease hostilities, to capitulate to the Allied forces, including the Soviet forces, and to surrender their arms.

The Soviet Government awaits the receipt from the Government of the United States of America of information as to when the above-mentioned order concerning the capitulation of the Japanese forces will be issued and as to the date on which the act of capitulation of Japan will be signed.”

I informed Molotov that we had received a summary of the reply which we had made through the Swiss Government to the Japanese acceptance of the surrender terms and advised him of the contents of [Page 666] Army cable Number 1409 plain text message Marshall to MacArthur, August 14.1 I stated that as in the case of the Japanese acceptance some time might elapse before this reply was received by the Japanese. I also explained that General Deane2 had requested General Antonov3 in writing to assist in relaying the message from General MacArthur to Tokyo contained in Army cable Number (MacArthur’s number 0500) August 151 and gave him the gist of this message.

Molotov asked me whether there had been any actual surrenders up to the present time, to which I replied that I had thus far received no information.

I hope I may be urgently informed this day (via Army channels) of all developments in order to pass them on to Molotov.

[
Harriman
]
  1. Japan time; this was the evening of August 14, Washington time.↩
  2. See reply quoted by the Swiss Chargé in his note of August 14, p. 662.↩
  3. Not found in Department files.↩
  4. Maj. Gen. John R. Deane, head of American military mission in the Soviet Union.↩
  5. Army Gen. Alexey Innokentyevich Antonov, Chief of Soviet Army General Staff.↩
  6. Not found in Department files.↩