On what date did Emperor Hirohito broadcast Japan’s surrender address in 1945?

Emperor Hirohito broadcast Japan’s surrender address on August 15, 1945.

The address announced that Japan had accepted the terms of the Potsdam Declaration, which demanded the country’s surrender. It followed the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Soviet declaration of war against Japan.

The speech was recorded at the Imperial Palace on August 14 and broadcast at noon Japan Standard Time on August 15. Because of time-zone differences, many Allied countries heard news of the surrender on August 14.

The broadcast is often called the Jewel Voice Broadcast, although Hirohito did not use that phrase in the speech. The formal surrender ceremony took place later, aboard USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945.