On August 14, Hirohito announced to his shocked and dismayed cabinet that Japan would accept the Allied conditions for surrender. He made a voice recording of an Imperial Rescript so that a right-wing military coup would fail, because otherwise they would be able to claim that surrender was not the true wish of the emperor. (Zeiler 189)

Later on that day, the Japanese people heard their emperor’s voice for the first time. They expected no news of victory or announcement, but that more sacrifices would have to be made to fight the Soviets. But the emperor’s announcement came as a shock: Japan would accept defeat and surrender. Hirohito gravely instructed his citizens to lay down their arms and accept their fate, for they had no other choice. He warned that

“…the enemy has begun to employ a new and most cruel bomb, the power of which to do damage which is indeed incalculable, taking the toll of many innocent lives. Should we continue to fight it would not only result in the ultimate collapse and obliteration of the Japanese nation, but also it would lead to the total extinction of human civilization.”

The atomic bombs had persuaded Japan to end its war. (Zeiler 189)

But while Allied forces from the United States to Australia celebrated with an immense outpour of relief and joy, two cities in Japan were struggling to cope in the aftermaths of nuclear destruction (1945: Atom bomb hits Nagasaki).

	VIDEO: US President Harry S Truman announces surrender. August 14, 1945. (World War II Database) 56K (120 KB) | Cable/DSL (609 KB)
	VIDEO: Japan surrenders aboard the USS Missouri. September 2, 1945. (World War II Database) 56K (864 KB) | Cable/DSL (4.35 MB)

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SOURCES:

"1945: Atom bomb hits Nagasaki." BBC On This Day. BBC. 24 Jul. 2005 <http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/9/newsid_3580000/3580143.stm>.

Zeiler, Thomas W. Unconditional Defeat: Japan, America, and the end of World War II. Wilmington: Scholarly Resources Inc, 2004.