Gyokuon-hōsō is the Japanese term for Emperor Hirohito’s August 1945 radio broadcast announcing surrender. The broadcast was transmitted on August 15, 1945, and is often translated as “Jewel Voice Broadcast.”
Hirohito had recorded the speech the previous day after Japan’s leaders accepted the Allied terms. It was the first time most Japanese civilians had heard the emperor’s voice. The formal surrender document was not signed until September 2 aboard USS Missouri.
The broadcast used highly formal court language, so many listeners did not immediately understand that Japan had surrendered. Gyokuon-hōsō is distinct from mokusatsu, a term associated with the Japanese government’s response to the Potsdam Declaration, and from the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, the later written agreement.