On what date was Japan’s surrender announcement broadcast to the Japanese public in 1945?

Japan’s surrender announcement was broadcast to the Japanese public on August 15, 1945.

The broadcast carried the emperor’s recorded rescript accepting the terms of the Potsdam Declaration. It was transmitted shortly after noon Japan Standard Time and was widely known as the Gyokuon-hōsō, or “Jewel Voice Broadcast.” For many listeners, it was the first time they had heard the emperor speak.

The announcement did not itself constitute the formal signing of surrender. Japanese representatives signed the Japanese Instrument of Surrender on September 2 aboard the battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. That ceremony legally and ceremonially ended the war between Japan and the Allied powers.

The date can cause confusion because the announcement reached the United States on August 14 owing to the International Date Line and time-zone differences. Thus, August 15 is central to Japanese remembrance, while August 14 was the announcement date in the United States.