Just Days From the Proclamation of VJ Day: Signed Photograph of President Harry Truman and His Cabinet and Advisors in Session on August 10, 1945 to Discuss Japan’s Surrender Offer

This was the last Cabinet meeting of World War II

August 10, 1945 was a landmark day in history. Just a day after the atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, and four days after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan submitted its acquiescence to the Potsdam Conference terms of unconditional surrender. President Harry S Truman then ordered a halt to atomic bombing, and called a Cabinet meeting to discuss the Japanese message.

After the atomic bombs fell, Japanese Emperor Hirohito, having remained aloof from the daily decisions of prosecuting the war, simply rubber-stamping the decisions of his War Council, including the decision to bomb Pearl Harbor, finally felt compelled to do step forward. The Emperor, who had come to favor peace as early as June, summoned and presided over a special meeting of his Council on August 9, 1945, and implored them to consider accepting the terms of the Potsdam Conference, which meant unconditional surrender. “It seems obvious that the nation is no longer able to wage war, and its ability to defend its own shores is doubtful.” The Council was split over the surrender terms; half the members wanted assurances that the Emperor would maintain his hereditary and traditional role in a postwar Japan before surrender could be considered. But in light of the atomic bombings, and the Soviet invasion of Manchuria, as well as the Emperor’s own request that the Council “bear the unbearable,” it was agreed: Japan would surrender.

Tokyo released a message to its ambassadors in Switzerland and Sweden, which was then passed on to the Allies. The message formally accepted the Potsdam Declaration but included the proviso that “said Declaration does not comprise any demand which prejudices the prerogatives of His Majesty as sovereign ruler.” When the message reached Washington on August 10, President Truman, unwilling to inflict any more suffering on the Japanese people, especially on “all those kids,” ordered a halt to atomic bombing, He also wanted to know whether the stipulation regarding “His Majesty” was a deal breaker. Negotiations between Washington and Tokyo quickly ensued, and in the end all the Japanese wanted was for the Emperor to remain as a figurehead. This was agreed to, and Hirohito remained as a figurehead emperor until his death in 1989. He was a quiet man, avoiding publicity, and he and his wife the Empress Nagako could most often be seen arranging flowers in their garden.

This photograph, 10 1/2 by 13 1/2 inches, shows Truman’s Cabinet and advisors in session August 10, 1945, discussing Japan’s surrender offer. This was four days after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, three days after President Truman returned to Washington from the Potsdam Conference, two days after the Soviet Union declared war on Japan, and one day after the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. In addition to the heads of the various Cabinet departments, this meeting was attended by representatives of other government agencies whose functions were related to the war effort.

Left to right around the conference table are: Secretary of Agriculture Clinton Anderson; Secretary of Labor Lewis B. Schwellenbach; John B. Blandford Jr., Chairman of the National Housing Agency; Chairman Julius Krug of the War Production Board; Director John W. Snyder of the Office of War Mobilization; William H. Davis of the Office of Economic Stabilization; Foreign Economic Administrator Leo Crowley; Secretary of Commerce and former vice president Henry Wallace; Undersecretary of Interior Abe Fortas, in the absence of his superior, Harold Ickes; Postmaster General Robert Hannegan; Secretary of War Henry Stimson; Secretary of State James Byrnes; President Harry S Truman; Secretary of the Treasury Frederick Vinson; Attorney General Thomas Clark; and Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal. The White House confirmed the Cabinet was considering the Japanese surrender offer, and also conferring with Great Britain, Russia and China about that offer. All of the above have signed this photograph.

On August 14, the Emperor spoke to the Japanese people, saying they were surrendering: “We are keenly aware of the inmost feelings of all of you, our subjects. However, it is according to the dictates of time and fate that we have resolved to pave the way for a grand peace for all the generations to come by enduring the unendurable and suffering what is insufferable. Having been able to save and maintain the structure of the Imperial State, we are always with you, our good and loyal subjects, relying upon your sincerity and integrity. Beware most strictly of any outbursts of emotion that may engender needless complications, of any fraternal contention and strife that may create confusion, lead you astray and cause you to lose the confidence of the world. Let the entire nation continue as one family from generation to generation, ever firm in its faith of the imperishableness of its divine land, and mindful of its heavy burden of responsibilities, and the long road before it. Unite your total strength to be devoted to the construction for the future. Cultivate the ways of rectitude, nobility of spirit, and work with resolution so that you may enhance the innate glory of the Imperial State and keep pace with the progress of the world.”

That day Truman spoke to the American people: “I have received this afternoon a message from the Japanese Government…in reply to the message forwarded to that Government by the Secretary of State on August 11. I deem this reply a full acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration which specifies the unconditional surrender of Japan. In the reply there is no qualification. Arrangements are now being made for the signing of the surrender terms at the earliest possible moment. General Douglas MacArthur has been appointed the Supreme Allied Commander to receive the Japanese surrender…Meantime, the Allied armed forces have been ordered to suspend offensive action.”

The next day, August 15, 1945, was proclaimed VJ Day – Victory over Japan Day. Though the formal surrender of Japan occurred in September, on August 15, 1945, World War II was over.

There were no Cabinet meetings between August 10 and August 14, meaning the one of August 10 was the last such meeting of the war.