On what date did Japan’s emperor announce the country’s surrender to the Japanese public?

Japan’s emperor announced the country’s surrender to the Japanese public on August 15, 1945.

Emperor Hirohito’s recorded address was broadcast at noon Japan Standard Time. In it, he said Japan had accepted the Allied terms in the Potsdam Declaration and instructed the nation to endure the consequences of ending the war. The announcement is commonly associated with V-J Day in Japan and several other countries.

This date is sometimes confused with September 2, 1945, when Japanese representatives formally signed the Instrument of Surrender aboard USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. The two dates mark different stages: August 15 was the public announcement, while September 2 was the official signing ceremony.

The announcement came after Japan’s leaders debated surrender amid the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Soviet declaration of war, and the rapid deterioration of Japan’s military position. In the United States, V-J Day has also historically been observed on August 14 because news of the surrender reached North America on that date.