The Kyūjō incident was the failed Japanese coup attempt on the night before Hirohito’s surrender broadcast.
The attempted coup took place during the night of August 14–15, 1945. Army officers and members of the Imperial Guard tried to prevent the surrender announcement, place Hirohito under effective house arrest, and destroy the recording of his speech.
The plotters occupied parts of the Imperial Palace and killed Lieutenant General Takeshi Mori, but they failed to win the support of senior army commanders. They also failed to locate and destroy the recording, which had been hidden inside the palace. The coup collapsed before the broadcast at noon on August 15.
The incident is also known as the Imperial Palace Incident. It is distinct from the February 26 Incident of 1936, an earlier attempted coup by young army officers. The survival of Hirohito’s recording allowed the surrender announcement to reach the Japanese public as planned.