On what date was Hirohito’s surrender broadcast transmitted in Japan?

Hirohito’s surrender broadcast was transmitted in Japan on August 15, 1945.

The recorded message aired at noon Japan Standard Time and announced the government’s decision to accept the Allied terms in the Potsdam Declaration. Japan had informed the Allies of its intention to surrender shortly beforehand, but the broadcast made the decision public to the population across the Japanese Empire.

The date is commonly called the end-of-war memorial day in Japan. In the United States, however, the surrender announcement became public on August 14 because it was still August 14 in North America when President Truman addressed the public. That time-zone difference explains why V-J Day can appear with more than one August date.

August 15 was not the date of the formal signing. The legal instrument was signed on September 2, 1945, aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. Both dates therefore appear in accounts of Japan’s surrender, but they describe different stages of the process.