What was the official title of Emperor Hirohito’s 1945 surrender proclamation to Japan?

The official title of Emperor Hirohito’s 1945 surrender proclamation was the Imperial Rescript on the Termination of the War.

Hirohito recorded the rescript on August 14, 1945, and it was broadcast to the Japanese public at noon Japan Standard Time on August 15. It was Japan’s first radio address by a reigning emperor to the nation.

The formal language referred to the changing military situation and the use of a powerful new weapon, but it did not plainly use the everyday word “surrender.” The recording was difficult for many listeners to understand because of the Emperor’s formal court language and the poor quality of the broadcast.

A follow-up explanation made clear that Japan had accepted the Allied terms. The broadcast is commonly called the Gyokuon-hōsō, or “Jewel Voice Broadcast,” because ordinary Japanese subjects heard the Emperor’s voice directly for the first time. The legal surrender followed aboard USS Missouri on September 2.