How long was Hirohito’s 1945 Jewel Voice Broadcast, according to its broadcast record?

Hirohito’s 1945 Jewel Voice Broadcast lasted 4 minutes and 36 seconds, according to its broadcast record.

The message was recorded at the Imperial Palace on August 14, 1945, and broadcast the next day at noon. It was not a live address: technicians made recordings, and the approved version was replayed over NHK.

The short runtime did not make the message easy to understand. Hirohito spoke in formal classical Japanese, and the recording quality was poor. He also avoided a direct statement using the ordinary word for surrender, which led NHK to provide a clarification afterward.

The broadcast’s historical importance rests less on its length than on its unprecedented audience. For most Japanese civilians, it was the first time they had heard the emperor’s voice. The formal surrender ceremony took place separately on September 2.