Which Japanese emperor approved accepting the Potsdam Declaration in 1945?

Emperor Hirohito approved accepting the Potsdam Declaration in 1945.

Hirohito, posthumously known as Emperor Shōwa, reigned over Japan during World War II. On August 9–10, 1945, Japan’s wartime leaders debated whether to accept the Allied declaration demanding surrender. The government was divided, and the Emperor’s intervention helped break the deadlock in favor of acceptance.

Hirohito later recorded a radio message announcing the decision to the Japanese public. The broadcast aired at noon on August 15, 1945, and is commonly remembered as the first time many Japanese citizens heard the Emperor’s voice. The formal surrender document was signed weeks later, on September 2, aboard USS Missouri.

Hirohito is sometimes confused with Emperor Akihito, who succeeded him in 1989, or Emperor Taishō, who ruled before him. Hirohito remained emperor after the war, although the Allied occupation transformed the political system and the emperor’s constitutional role.