Hirohito’s recorded surrender speech began at noon in Japan on August 15, 1945.
Japan Broadcasting Corporation, known as NHK, aired the recording at 12:00 p.m. Japan Standard Time. The broadcast was announced in advance, and people across Japan gathered around radios to hear an announcement of exceptional national importance.
Hirohito had recorded the speech at the Imperial Palace the previous night. Technicians made two recordings because the first attempt was considered too quiet. The second recording became the official version, while the other was kept as a backup.
The broadcast followed the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Soviet Union’s entry into the war against Japan. The public announcement came before the formal signing ceremony on September 2, which occurred aboard USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.