Emperor Hirohito announced Japan’s surrender decision by radio in 1945.
His recorded address aired at noon on 15 August Japan Standard Time. It communicated that Japan had accepted the Potsdam Declaration, which demanded the unconditional surrender of Japanese armed forces. The broadcast became a defining moment in Japan’s modern history because it was the first known time ordinary Japanese people heard their emperor’s voice.
Hirohito used formal Classical Japanese, and the poor sound quality made the message difficult for many listeners to understand. The speech did not plainly use the everyday phrase “Japan has surrendered”; instead, it referred to accepting the Allied declaration. Radio announcers clarified the meaning after the recording ended.
The announcement came before the formal surrender ceremony. Japanese representatives signed the Japanese Instrument of Surrender aboard USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945, completing the legal process that ended the war.