Emperor Hirohito’s recorded speech announced Japan’s acceptance of the Allied surrender terms in August 1945.
Hirohito recorded the Imperial Rescript on the Termination of the War on August 14, 1945. It was broadcast at noon on August 15, making him the first Japanese emperor whose voice was heard publicly by the country’s population. The speech used formal classical Japanese and did not plainly say the word “surrender,” so a clarification followed.
The announcement came after Japan’s leaders debated the impact of the atomic bombings, the Soviet declaration of war, and the worsening military situation. Hirohito intervened in the deadlocked cabinet discussion and supported accepting the Potsdam Declaration.
Hirohito reigned throughout World War II and remained emperor after the war under Japan’s new constitutional system. He is also commonly identified by his posthumous era name, Emperor Shōwa, but “Hirohito” is the standard English name used for the wartime monarch.