NHK transmitted Emperor Hirohito’s surrender address across Japan in 1945.
NHK, then known as the Japan Broadcasting Corporation, broadcast the emperor’s recorded speech at noon on 15 August 1945. The address announced that Japan had accepted the terms of the Potsdam Declaration and would end the war. It was heard nationwide and became one of the most significant broadcasts in Japanese history.
The speech was not delivered live. NHK technicians recorded Hirohito at the Imperial Palace on the night of 14 August, then transported the phonograph records to the broadcasting station. A military coup attempt sought to prevent the recording from reaching the public, but the plot failed and NHK broadcast the official version as planned.
The address was difficult for many listeners to understand. Hirohito spoke in formal Classical Japanese, which differed from ordinary speech, and the recording’s sound quality was poor. Nonetheless, it was the first time many Japanese people had heard the emperor’s voice. NHK’s role makes the broadcast distinct from later international radio reports and from the formal signing aboard USS Missouri.