Which Japanese emperor delivered the radio broadcast announcing Japan’s surrender?

Emperor Hirohito delivered the radio broadcast announcing Japan’s surrender. His recorded address was broadcast across Japan at noon on 15 August 1945.

The speech was formally known as the Imperial Rescript on the Termination of the War. Hirohito said that Japan had accepted the terms of the Allied declaration, referring to the Potsdam Declaration without using a simple conversational phrase such as “we surrender.”

For many listeners, the broadcast was historically extraordinary because it was the first known time the voice of a Japanese emperor had been heard publicly by ordinary people. The recording used formal Classical Japanese, and its sound quality was poor, so some listeners did not immediately understand its meaning.

The speech had been recorded privately on 14 August. Military officers opposed to surrender attempted to seize the Imperial Palace and destroy the recording during the Kyūjō incident, but the plot failed. The recording was then broadcast as planned.