Kenji Hatanaka led the failed 1945 plot to stop Hirohito’s surrender broadcast.
Major Kenji Hatanaka and other army officers attempted a coup on the night of August 14–15, 1945. They wanted to prevent the emperor’s recorded message from being broadcast and keep Japan fighting.
The plotters searched the Imperial Palace for the recordings, but they could not find them. They also occupied the NHK broadcasting station and tried to force personnel to transmit a message urging continued resistance. Senior commanders did not support the coup, and it collapsed before the broadcast.
The recordings were secretly moved from the palace and delivered safely to the radio station. Hirohito’s message aired at noon on August 15. Hatanaka later died by suicide near the Imperial Palace as the coup failed.