What was the formal title of Emperor Hirohito's 15 August 1945 surrender broadcast?

The formal title of Emperor Hirohito's 15 August 1945 surrender broadcast was the Imperial Rescript on the Termination of the War.

The rescript was recorded by Hirohito on 14 August and broadcast at noon on 15 August Japan Standard Time. It announced that Japan had accepted the terms of the Potsdam Declaration and instructed the Japanese people to endure the consequences of surrender. The recording became known as the Gyokuon-hōsō, meaning the “Jewel Voice Broadcast.”

Hirohito did not use a simple conversational phrase such as “Japan surrenders.” Instead, the rescript used highly formal classical Japanese and indirect wording. Radio listeners often struggled to understand it, so an announcer followed the recording with an explanation that Japan had surrendered.

The rescript was an announcement of the decision; it was not the document that legally formalized capitulation. That separate document, the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, was signed aboard USS Missouri on 2 September 1945.