On what date did Japan's surrender become public in Japan in 1945?

Japan's surrender became public in Japan on August 15, 1945. Emperor Hirohito's recorded radio address was broadcast that day, telling the Japanese people that the government had accepted the Allied terms.

The announcement followed the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Soviet declaration of war, and intense debate within Japan's wartime leadership. Hirohito's intervention helped break a deadlock among senior officials who disagreed about whether to accept the Potsdam Declaration.

The date can cause confusion because the broadcast occurred on August 14 in the United States and some other places because of time-zone differences. September 2 marks the later formal signing of the surrender instrument aboard USS Missouri, while August 15 is the principal V-J Day date in Japan and the United Kingdom.