The Jewel Voice Broadcast announced Japan’s surrender to the Japanese public on August 15, 1945.
Emperor Hirohito’s recorded message was broadcast at noon Japan Standard Time. It said that Japan had accepted the terms of the Potsdam Declaration, although the formal wording was indirect and difficult for many listeners to interpret. The broadcast followed days of intense debate within Japan’s leadership after the atomic bombings and the Soviet declaration of war.
The recording itself had been made on August 14. A group of military officers attempted to seize the recording and stop the broadcast, but the plot failed. The recording was then delivered to the broadcasting station and transmitted nationwide.
August 15 is widely remembered in Japan as the day the war ended for the public, and it is often called V-J Day in historical discussions. It was not the date on which the surrender instrument was signed. That formal ceremony occurred on September 2 aboard USS Missouri, making the two dates important but distinct milestones in Japan’s surrender.