Gyokuon-hōsō is the Japanese term commonly used for Hirohito’s August 15, 1945 surrender broadcast.
The term can be translated as “Jewel Voice Broadcast,” referring to the emperor’s voice reaching ordinary Japanese people by radio. It is also written in Japanese as 玉音放送. The broadcast was the first known occasion on which most Japanese civilians heard the emperor speak.
Hirohito’s recorded message announced acceptance of the Allied declaration and referred to the use of a new and extremely destructive bomb. Because the speech used formal Classical Japanese and had poor audio quality, many listeners did not immediately understand that it meant surrender.
The broadcast was not the formal legal surrender ceremony. Japanese representatives signed the instrument of surrender aboard USS Missouri on September 2, 1945. Gyokuon-hōsō specifically names the radio announcement heard on August 15.