NHK aired Emperor Hirohito’s 1945 surrender broadcast in Japan. NHK was the Japan Broadcasting Corporation, the country’s national broadcaster during the war. The announcement was transmitted at noon on August 15, 1945, using a recording made inside the Imperial Palace.
The speech was not broadcast live. NHK technicians recorded Hirohito reading the Imperial Rescript on the Termination of the War during the night of August 14–15. A second recording became the official version after the first take was judged unsatisfactory. The recording lasted only a few minutes but carried enormous political significance.
Many Japanese listeners had never heard the emperor’s voice before. The formal Classical Japanese language, poor audio quality, and indirect wording meant that some people did not immediately understand that Japan had surrendered. NHK’s role is therefore closely associated with the public announcement, while the formal surrender document was signed later aboard USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.