Hirohito’s recorded surrender message was broadcast to Japan at noon on August 15, 1945.
The address, carried by the Japan Broadcasting Corporation, was the first time most Japanese people heard their emperor’s voice. Hirohito did not speak live; he had recorded the rescript at the Imperial Palace on the previous night after Japan’s leaders accepted the Allied surrender terms.
The broadcast used formal Classical Japanese, and the poor sound quality made it difficult for many listeners to understand. Hirohito did not plainly use the ordinary word for surrender in the speech. Instead, he announced that Japan had accepted the provisions of the Allied declaration, a phrasing that required radio announcers to clarify the meaning.
The timing followed the failed Kyūjō incident, whose conspirators had tried to prevent the recording from being aired. The public announcement came before the formal signing aboard USS Missouri on September 2.