Hirohito was the Japanese emperor whose recorded speech announced Japan’s acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration.
Hirohito, later known posthumously in Japan as Emperor Shōwa, recorded the speech at the Imperial Palace on August 14, 1945. It was broadcast to the Japanese public at noon on August 15. The address was formally titled the Imperial Rescript on the Termination of the War.
The speech was not a direct live transmission. Technicians recorded it on a phonograph record, and the recording was played the next day. Hirohito used highly formal Classical Japanese, and the poor audio quality made the message difficult for many listeners to understand.
Hirohito’s address followed the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as well as the Soviet declaration of war on Japan. His military address two days later used different language and emphasized the Soviet entry into the conflict rather than focusing on the atomic bomb.