Gyokuon Broadcast (Imperial Rescript on the Termination of the War)

After the Imperial Conference of 14 August 1945 decided to accept the Potsdam Declaration, the rescript was finalised by the cabinet. The text had been outlined by Chief Cabinet Secretary Sakomizu Hisatsune, drafted by the Sinologist Kawada Mizuho and revised by Yasuoka Masahiro, and it was amended several times in cabinet that day at the request of War Minister Anami Korechika and others. The Emperor recorded it that night, at about 11:25 PM, at the Imperial Household Ministry building within the palace grounds. Technicians from the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK), accompanied by its president Ohashi Hachiro, cut the recording onto discs; according to the Imperial Household Agency, two takes were made — the first was judged too low in voice — and the second was used as the master for broadcast.

During the night of 14 to 15 August, officers of the Army Ministry and the Imperial Guards Division who opposed surrender occupied parts of the palace and searched for the discs in what became known as the Kyujo Incident. The recordings had been hidden in an office of the Imperial Household Ministry (Japanese sources specify a safe in the office of the Empress's household staff) and were not found, and the attempted coup collapsed by morning.

The broadcast went out at noon on 15 August from NHK's Tokyo Broadcasting Hall, introduced by announcer Wada Nobukata, with remarks by Shimomura Hiroshi, president of the Information Bureau. The playback of the Emperor's voice lasted about five minutes (Japanese sources give 4 minutes 41 seconds) and was followed by a re-reading and explanatory news. To ensure nationwide reception, transmitter power was raised from the usual 10 kW to 60 kW, and the broadcast was relayed throughout the empire, including Taiwan, Korea and Manchuria. It was the first time the general public had heard the Emperor's voice, and the classical language and poor reception meant many listeners understood its meaning only from the commentary that followed.

The broadcast informed soldiers and civilians at home and overseas that the war was over; 15 August is accordingly known in Japan as the day the war ended, and the government holds the National Memorial Service for the War Dead on that date each year. The surviving discs are kept by the Imperial Household Agency, which released digitally restored audio from the originals on 1 August 2015; the versions previously in circulation derived mostly from postwar copies. The original of the rescript itself is held by the National Archives of Japan.