Japan marked V-J Day on August 15, 1945, when Emperor Hirohito announced the country’s acceptance of the Allied surrender terms by radio.
The broadcast followed Japan’s decision to accept the Potsdam Declaration, issued by the United States, Britain, and China on July 26. Hirohito’s recorded speech was transmitted shortly after noon in Japan and became known as the Gyokuon-hōsō, or “Jewel Voice Broadcast.”
The date can cause confusion because the announcement occurred on August 14 in the United States and other areas because of time-zone differences. The formal surrender ceremony came later, on September 2, aboard USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.
V-J Day did not mean that every military action stopped instantly everywhere. Some Japanese forces continued fighting or did not immediately receive the surrender news, while the Allied occupation of Japan began in the following weeks.