Korechika Anami committed suicide on August 15, 1945, after accepting the emperor’s surrender decision.
Anami was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army and served as Japan’s Minister of War during the final months of World War II. He opposed surrender even after the atomic bombings and the Soviet declaration of war, arguing that Japan should continue fighting for better terms.
When Emperor Hirohito ordered the government to accept the Potsdam Declaration, Anami did not support the attempted military coup intended to stop the surrender broadcast. Instead, he instructed officers to obey the imperial command. He signed the cabinet’s surrender document on August 14 and committed seppuku early on August 15.
Anami’s death occurred during the same tense period as the emperor’s recorded radio announcement. His position should not be confused with that of General Yoshijiro Umezu, who signed Japan’s formal surrender instrument on September 2. Nor was Anami the wartime prime minister; Kantarō Suzuki headed the government during the final surrender crisis.