Emperor Hirohito announced Japan’s surrender in the 1945 radio address known as the Jewel Voice Broadcast.
The broadcast, officially called Gyokuon-hōsō, was transmitted on August 15, 1945. Hirohito read a rescript accepting the terms of the Potsdam Declaration and ordering Japan’s armed forces to cease resistance. His formal and archaic language made the message difficult for many listeners to understand immediately.
The address was historically significant because it was the first public radio broadcast by a reigning Japanese emperor. It reached a population that had largely experienced the war through official announcements and military censorship.
Hirohito remained emperor after the surrender, but Japan’s political system changed substantially during the Allied occupation. The 1947 Constitution defined the emperor as a symbol of the state and the unity of the people rather than a sovereign exercising political power.