Which Japanese emperor announced Japan’s acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration by radio in 1945?

Emperor Hirohito announced Japan’s acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration by radio in 1945.

His recorded address was broadcast at noon on August 15, 1945, in what became known as the Gyokuon-hōsō, or Jewel Voice Broadcast. It told the Japanese people that the government had accepted the Allied declaration demanding Japan’s surrender, although the formal surrender document was not signed until September 2.

The broadcast was historically remarkable because it was the first known time that ordinary Japanese people heard the voice of their emperor. Hirohito spoke in highly formal Classical Japanese, and the recording’s poor sound quality made the message difficult for many listeners to understand.

The speech followed the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Soviet Union’s entry into the war against Japan. Hirohito referred to the “new and most cruel bomb” in the public address. A failed military coup attempt sought to prevent the recording from being broadcast, but palace staff and NHK engineers preserved and transmitted it.