Which Japanese emperor announced surrender terms in a radio broadcast on 15 August 1945?

Emperor Hirohito announced Japan's surrender terms in a radio broadcast on 15 August 1945.

The recorded address is known in Japanese as the Gyokuon-hōsō, meaning the “Jewel Voice Broadcast.” It told the Japanese people that the government had accepted the terms of the Potsdam Declaration. Hirohito used formal classical Japanese, and many listeners found the wording difficult to understand immediately.

The broadcast was historically unusual because it was probably the first time most ordinary Japanese people had heard their emperor's voice. It followed days of intense debate within the Japanese leadership, including opposition from military officers who wanted to continue the war. A failed coup attempt by surrender opponents took place shortly before the recording was broadcast.

Hirohito remained emperor after the war, but Japan's political system changed substantially during the Allied occupation. In 1946, he issued the Humanity Declaration, and the postwar constitution later defined the emperor as a symbol of the state rather than a sovereign with governing power.