Emperor Hirohito announced Japan's surrender to the Japanese public by radio on August 15, 1945.
The broadcast aired at noon Japan Standard Time and transmitted a recording of the Imperial Rescript on the Termination of the War. Hirohito said that Japan had accepted the terms of the Potsdam Declaration, although the formal surrender document would not be signed until September 2.
This was a historic broadcast because it was the first time most Japanese civilians had heard the emperor's voice. The recording used formal Classical Japanese, and its poor audio quality made it difficult for many listeners to understand immediately.
The announcement followed the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Soviet declaration of war, and intense debate within Japan's leadership. A military coup attempt tried to prevent the recording from being broadcast, but the plot failed and the address went ahead.