What is the common name of Hirohito’s August 15, 1945 surrender broadcast?

Hirohito’s August 15, 1945 surrender broadcast is commonly called the Jewel Voice Broadcast. The name refers to the imperial voice being heard by the Japanese public for the first time.

The address was a recording of Hirohito reading the Imperial Rescript on the Termination of the War. It announced that Japan had accepted the Potsdam Declaration, although the formal surrender document would not be signed until September 2.

The speech was delivered in formal Classical Japanese, making it difficult for many listeners to understand immediately. Poor recording quality also obscured the emperor’s words, and the speech did not use a simple direct phrase equivalent to “Japan surrenders.”

The recording had been made secretly at the Imperial Palace the previous night. Military officers opposed to surrender tried to prevent its broadcast, but the recording survived and was transmitted by NHK at noon.