On what date did Emperor Hirohito announce Japan’s surrender in the Jewel Voice Broadcast?

Emperor Hirohito announced Japan’s surrender on August 15, 1945, in the Jewel Voice Broadcast.

The recorded address was broadcast across Japan at noon Japan Standard Time. Hirohito said that Japan had accepted the terms of the Potsdam Declaration, although he used highly formal classical language and did not plainly say, “Japan surrenders.”

The announcement followed the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Soviet declaration of war against Japan, and intense political debate inside the Japanese government. Some military officers attempted a coup in the early hours of August 15 to prevent the recording from being broadcast.

The formal surrender ceremony did not occur until September 2, 1945, when Japanese representatives signed the Instrument of Surrender aboard USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. This difference explains why August 15 and September 2 are both associated with Japan’s surrender.