NHK aired Hirohito’s surrender recording in 1945.
NHK was then known as the Japan Broadcasting Corporation, the national broadcaster responsible for transmitting the emperor’s recorded address. The speech was replayed at noon on August 15, 1945, after being recorded at the Imperial Palace the previous night.
NHK technicians had been sent to the palace to make the recording while Japanese cabinet members debated the wording of the rescript. Hirohito made two recordings; the second was selected as the official version and broadcast to the public.
The poor audio quality and the speech’s formal classical Japanese made it difficult for many listeners to follow. The broadcaster’s name is sometimes confused with “Radio Tokyo,” an Allied wartime nickname for Japanese overseas broadcasts, but NHK was the domestic organization involved in the announcement.