NHK aired Emperor Hirohito’s surrender recording to Japan in 1945.
NHK, then known as the Japan Broadcasting Corporation, broadcast the emperor’s recorded rescript at noon Japan Standard Time on 15 August 1945. The message announced Japan’s acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration and explained that continuing the war would bring catastrophic consequences.
The speech was recorded at the Imperial Palace on 14 August. It was not a live address: Hirohito made phonograph recordings, and the second version became the official broadcast. NHK technicians then transported the recording to the station despite an attempted military coup by officers who wanted to prevent the surrender announcement.
Many listeners found the broadcast difficult to understand. Hirohito spoke in formal Classical Japanese, and the recording quality was poor. The speech also avoided a simple sentence saying “Japan surrenders,” instead referring to acceptance of the Allied declaration. NHK’s role therefore involved both the technical broadcast and the perilous effort to preserve and transmit the recording during the final hours of the war.