What nickname was given to Hirohito's 1945 radio broadcast announcing Japan's surrender?

Hirohito's 1945 radio broadcast announcing Japan's surrender was nicknamed the Jewel Voice Broadcast.

The broadcast aired at noon in Japan on August 15, 1945. Emperor Hirohito read a rescript explaining that Japan had accepted the Potsdam Declaration, which demanded the country's surrender. It was the first time most Japanese people had heard their emperor's voice.

The English nickname translates the Japanese term Gyokuon-hōsō, whose literal meaning is often rendered as “Broadcast of the Emperor's Voice” or “Jewel Voice Broadcast.” The phrase reflects the traditional elevated language used for an emperor's voice, rather than describing a jewel or a recording device.

Hirohito's speech did not plainly use the everyday phrase “Japan surrenders.” Its formal wording referred to accepting the Allied declaration, so some listeners initially found the meaning difficult to understand. The recording had been made on August 14 and survived an attempted palace coup before it was broadcast.