What English name is commonly given to Hirohito’s 1945 radio address announcing Japan’s surrender?

Hirohito’s 1945 radio address announcing Japan’s surrender is commonly called the Jewel Voice Broadcast. In Japanese, it is known as Gyokuon-hōsō, a term referring to the emperor’s voice.

The broadcast aired on August 15, 1945, and was a recording rather than a live speech. It was made at the Imperial Palace the previous night after the text had undergone repeated revisions. The recording was then transported to the Japan Broadcasting Corporation, NHK, for transmission.

Many Japanese listeners had never heard the emperor’s voice before. The formal Classical Japanese language, unfamiliar pronunciation, and poor audio quality made the message difficult for some people to understand. The address did not use a simple modern phrase equivalent to “Japan surrenders”; it stated that Japan had accepted the terms of the Allied declaration.