On Victory over Japan Day, which date marked Japan’s surrender announcement in Japan?

Victory over Japan Day marked Japan’s surrender announcement in Japan on 15 August 1945.

Emperor Hirohito’s recorded radio address was broadcast at noon Japan Standard Time. It announced that Japan accepted the terms of the Potsdam Declaration, although many listeners had never heard the emperor’s voice before.

The date can cause confusion because the announcement occurred on 15 August in Japan but on 14 August in much of the United States because of time-zone differences. A separate date, 2 September 1945, marks the formal signing of the surrender instrument aboard USS Missouri.

In the United Kingdom, 15 August is the official V-J Day. In the United States, 2 September has also been used as the official commemoration because it was the date of the formal surrender ceremony. Thus, both dates appear in historical references, but 15 August is the standard date for Japan’s public surrender announcement.