Who announced Japan’s surrender in the famous radio broadcast of August 15, 1945?

Emperor Hirohito announced Japan’s surrender in the famous radio broadcast of August 15, 1945.

Hirohito read the Imperial Rescript on the Termination of the War, telling the Japanese people that the government had accepted the terms of the Potsdam Declaration. The recording was transmitted at noon Japan Standard Time and became known as the Gyokuon-hōsō, or “Jewel Voice Broadcast.”

The announcement was historically unusual because it was the first public radio address by a reigning Japanese emperor. Many listeners had never heard Hirohito speak. His formal language, combined with the recording’s limited sound quality, meant that some people did not immediately understand that Japan had surrendered.

Hirohito remained emperor after the war, although Japan’s political system changed substantially under Allied occupation. He later renounced the claim that the emperor was divine. The surrender broadcast should not be confused with the later signing ceremony, which took place aboard USS Missouri on September 2.