Which Japanese emperor announced acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration in August 1945?

Emperor Hirohito announced acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration in August 1945.

Hirohito’s recorded radio address was broadcast to the Japanese public at noon on August 15, 1945. It stated that Japan had accepted the Allied terms and was ending the war. The broadcast became known as the Jewel Voice Broadcast, or Gyokuon-hōsō, because it was the first time many Japanese people had heard the emperor’s voice.

The message used formal and indirect language rather than the plain phrase “Japan surrenders.” Radio announcers subsequently clarified its meaning for listeners. The announcement followed a difficult debate within Japan’s wartime leadership, including disagreement over whether the country should accept the Potsdam terms.

Hirohito’s broadcast was not the same event as the formal signing. The Instrument of Surrender was signed eighteen days later aboard USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. Hirohito did not attend that ceremony; Japanese Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu and General Yoshijiro Umezu signed for Japan.