Which Japanese leader announced Japan’s surrender in a 15 August 1945 radio broadcast?

Emperor Hirohito announced Japan’s surrender in a radio broadcast on 15 August 1945.

The broadcast transmitted a recorded message known as the Imperial Rescript on the Termination of the War. It was broadcast around noon Japan Standard Time and was the first time many Japanese subjects had heard the emperor speak publicly. The recording used formal, classical Japanese, making it difficult for many listeners to understand clearly.

Hirohito said that Japan had accepted the terms of the Potsdam Declaration. He referred to the use of a powerful new weapon and warned that continuing the war could lead to the destruction of Japan and human civilization. The message did not use the straightforward modern wording of “surrender,” but its meaning was understood as Japan’s decision to stop fighting.

The radio announcement preceded the formal signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender on 2 September 1945. Hirohito’s broadcast therefore announced the decision, while the later ceremony documented the capitulation through signatures by Japanese and Allied representatives.