Who announced Japan's acceptance of the Allied surrender terms in a radio broadcast?

Emperor Hirohito announced Japan's acceptance of the Allied surrender terms in a radio broadcast.

The recording, known as the Jewel Voice Broadcast, was transmitted at noon Japan Standard Time on August 15, 1945. It was Hirohito's first widely heard radio address and marked the first time most Japanese civilians had heard the emperor's voice.

Hirohito read the Imperial Rescript on the Termination of the War in formal, classical Japanese. Many listeners found the language and recording difficult to understand, so officials and newspapers explained that Japan had accepted the Potsdam Declaration and would end the war.

The broadcast followed the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Soviet declaration of war, and intense debate within Japan's leadership. The formal surrender document was not signed until September 2, creating two commonly remembered end-of-war dates.