The August 1945 Japanese surrender broadcast is called the Gyokuon-hōsō.
The Japanese term means roughly “Jewel Voice Broadcast.” It refers to Emperor Hirohito’s recorded radio address announcing Japan’s acceptance of the Allied surrender terms. The recording was broadcast at noon on August 15, 1945, and became a defining moment in modern Japanese history.
Hirohito’s voice had rarely, if ever, been heard publicly by ordinary Japanese citizens. The speech used highly formal language and included references to the changing military situation and the use of a new and cruel bomb. It asked the Japanese people to endure the unendurable and bear the unbearable.
The broadcast announced acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration rather than serving as the legal surrender itself. Japan’s formal capitulation came later, on September 2, when representatives signed the Instrument of Surrender aboard USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. The broadcast date is commonly called V-J Day in Japan.