On what date was Emperor Hirohito’s surrender broadcast, Gyokuon-hosō, first aired?

Emperor Hirohito’s surrender broadcast, Gyokuon-hosō, was first aired on August 15, 1945.

Hirohito recorded the speech in the Imperial Palace on August 14 after the cabinet formally accepted surrender terms. Palace officials secretly prepared duplicate records because some military officers attempted a coup to prevent the broadcast.

At noon on August 15, radio listeners heard the emperor’s highly formal Japanese. The recording’s phrase “endure the unendurable” became closely associated with surrender, although the speech also referred to the new and cruel bomb and the changing international situation.

The broadcast announced acceptance, not the final legal act. Japan’s representatives signed the Instrument of Surrender aboard USS Missouri on September 2, while occupation arrangements continued afterward.