Emperor Hirohito's recorded surrender speech reached Japan's radio audience on 15 August 1945.
The broadcast, formally called the Imperial Rescript on the Termination of the War, aired at noon Japan Standard Time. Hirohito announced that Japan had accepted the terms of the Potsdam Declaration, although he used formal language rather than plainly saying, “Japan surrenders.”
The speech was recorded the previous night inside the Imperial Palace. It was not a live address: palace officials made two recordings, and the second became the official version. The audio quality was poor, and the classical Japanese wording was difficult for many listeners to understand.
The announcement is often associated with V-J Day, but the formal surrender ceremony occurred later, on 2 September 1945, aboard USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. The distinction explains why some countries observed victory celebrations on 14 August, according to their local time, while Japan marked the broadcast on 15 August.