On what date was Japan’s surrender announcement broadcast to its people in 1945?

Japan’s surrender announcement was broadcast to its people on August 15, 1945.

Emperor Hirohito’s recorded message was transmitted at noon Japan Standard Time. It announced that Japan had accepted the Allied surrender terms, although the formal surrender document would not be signed until later.

The date can cause confusion because the announcement was heard in the United States on August 14 because of the international date line. The formal ceremony took place on September 2 aboard USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.

The broadcast followed the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Soviet entry into the war against Japan, and intense debate within Japan’s government and military. It was the first time most Japanese people had heard their emperor’s voice.