Who delivered Japan’s recorded surrender address to the public on August 15, 1945?

Emperor Hirohito delivered Japan’s recorded surrender address to the public on August 15, 1945.

The broadcast was the Imperial Rescript on the Termination of the War, read by Hirohito and transmitted at noon Japan Standard Time. It announced that Japan would accept the Potsdam Declaration, although the speech used formal language and did not plainly say that Japan had surrendered.

The address followed the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Soviet declaration of war, and intense debate inside the Japanese government. Military hardliners even attempted to prevent the recording from being broadcast, but the recording was secured and delivered to NHK.

The speech was historically significant because it was the first time most Japanese civilians had heard the emperor’s voice. The formal surrender documents were signed later, on September 2, aboard USS Missouri.