Emperor Hirohito’s recorded surrender broadcast reached the Japanese public on 15 August 1945.
The address announced Japan’s acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration, although Hirohito did not use the word “surrender” directly. Instead, he said that Japan had accepted the terms of the Allies’ joint declaration and referred to the destructive power of the atomic bomb.
The broadcast was played at noon Japan Standard Time over NHK, Japan’s national broadcaster. It was not delivered live: the recording had been made inside the Imperial Palace on 14 August, then hidden during an attempted military coup by officers who wanted to prevent the message from being transmitted.
This date is often called V-J Day in Japan and several Allied countries, but the formal legal surrender came later. Japanese representatives signed the Instrument of Surrender aboard USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945. Thus, 15 August marks the public announcement, while 2 September marks the formal signing.