Hirohito delivered the radio announcement of Japan’s surrender in 1945.
Hirohito, posthumously known by his personal name Emperor Shōwa, recorded the speech at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. It was broadcast by NHK at noon on August 15, 1945, after Japan’s leaders accepted the Allied surrender terms.
The emperor did not use a simple phrase such as “Japan has surrendered.” Instead, he announced that Japan had accepted the joint declaration issued by the United States, Britain, China, and the Soviet Union. The formal language left some listeners uncertain about the announcement’s meaning.
The broadcast was historically significant because it was the first known occasion on which a Japanese emperor spoke directly to the general public. A failed military coup attempt sought to prevent the recording from being aired.