Which Japanese broadcaster recorded Emperor Hirohito’s 1945 surrender announcement?

Japan Broadcasting Corporation, known as NHK, recorded Emperor Hirohito’s 1945 surrender announcement.

NHK dispatched sound technicians to the Tokyo Imperial Palace on August 14, 1945, to record the Emperor reading the Imperial Rescript on the Termination of the War. The speech was not broadcast live; it was recorded on phonograph discs and replayed the following day.

Hirohito made two recordings because technicians thought the first performance was too quiet. The second recording became the official version. It was broadcast at noon Japan Standard Time on August 15, and many Japanese listeners heard the Emperor’s voice publicly for the first time.

The announcement used formal classical Japanese, and the recording quality was poor, so many listeners did not understand every word. Nevertheless, its broadcast communicated that Japan had accepted the terms of the Potsdam Declaration. The later signing aboard USS Missouri provided the formal legal ceremony.