Gyokuon-hōsō is the Japanese name commonly translated as “Jewel Voice Broadcast.”
The term refers to Emperor Hirohito’s recorded radio address broadcast on August 15, 1945. In the speech, Hirohito announced that Japan had accepted the terms of the Potsdam Declaration and would end the war.
Gyokuon literally refers to the emperor’s “jewel voice,” using an honorific expression for imperial speech. The broadcast is also known as the Imperial Rescript on the Termination of the War. It was transmitted by NHK at noon Japan Standard Time.
The recording was made the previous day at the Imperial Palace. Military officers opposed to surrender attempted to seize or destroy it during a failed coup, but the recordings were hidden and delivered safely to the broadcasting station.