On what date was V-J Day announced in Japan in 1945?

V-J Day was announced in Japan on 15 August 1945. On that date, Emperor Hirohito’s recorded radio address told the Japanese public that the government had accepted the terms of the Potsdam Declaration.

The announcement came shortly after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Soviet Union’s entry into the war against Japan. Hirohito’s speech used formal classical Japanese and did not directly state the word “surrender,” so many listeners found its meaning difficult to understand immediately.

The date can cause confusion because different countries observed V-J Day according to local time and custom. In the United States, the announcement occurred on 14 August because of the time difference, while the formal surrender ceremony took place on 2 September aboard USS Missouri.

Thus, 15 August marks Japan’s public announcement of surrender, whereas 2 September marks the signing of the surrender document.