NHK transmitted Hirohito’s surrender recording to the Japanese public in 1945.
NHK, then known as the Japan Broadcasting Corporation, aired the emperor’s recorded message at noon on August 15, 1945. The broadcast carried the Imperial Rescript on the Termination of the War, announcing that Japan had accepted the Allied terms.
The message was not delivered live. NHK technicians recorded Hirohito inside the Imperial Palace on the previous night, and engineers transported the records to the broadcasting station. Officers who opposed surrender tried to stop the broadcast during a failed coup attempt, but the recordings survived and were played at the scheduled time.
NHK is a common source of confusion because modern Japanese television networks use separate commercial identities. In 1945, NHK was the national public broadcaster and the only organization involved in transmitting the emperor’s address nationwide. For many listeners, it was the first time they had heard the voice of a Japanese emperor.