Which Japanese emperor delivered the radio announcement accepting the Potsdam Declaration?

Emperor Hirohito delivered the radio announcement accepting the Potsdam Declaration.

Hirohito, formally known posthumously in Japan as Emperor Shōwa, recorded the speech at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. It was broadcast on August 15, 1945, and informed the Japanese public that the government had accepted the Allied declaration demanding surrender.

The broadcast was historically unusual because many Japanese citizens had never heard the emperor’s voice. Hirohito spoke in highly formal Classical Japanese, which made parts of the message difficult for listeners to understand. A radio announcer clarified afterward that the emperor’s words meant Japan was surrendering.

Hirohito’s announcement followed the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Soviet declaration of war on Japan, and intense debate within Japan’s leadership. The emperor’s intervention helped break a deadlock among senior officials. The formal surrender document was signed later by Japanese representatives rather than by Hirohito personally.