Which Japanese emperor announced Japan's acceptance of the surrender terms in August 1945?

Emperor Hirohito announced Japan's acceptance of the surrender terms in August 1945.

On August 15, Hirohito's recorded address was broadcast to the Japanese public at noon Japan Standard Time. It explained that Japan had accepted the terms of the Potsdam Declaration and would end the war. For many listeners, it was the first time they had heard the emperor's voice.

The speech used formal Classical Japanese, and its recording was difficult for much of the public to understand. Hirohito did not use a simple conversational statement such as “Japan surrenders”; instead, the meaning was conveyed through imperial language and was clarified afterward by broadcasters.

The recording had been made the previous day and was nearly lost during an attempted military coup at the Imperial Palace. Officers opposed to surrender tried to seize the palace and locate the recording, but the plot failed. Hirohito later remained emperor during the Allied occupation, although Japan's postwar constitution transformed the institution's political role.