Japan's surrender was announced, ending World War II
On this day · 14 August 1945
On August 14, 1945, Japan's surrender was made public to the world, ending the deadliest conflict in history.
On August 14, 1945, Japan’s unconditional surrender was made public to the world, effectively ending World War II. Because of the time difference with Tokyo, the news reached Washington on the evening of the 14th, where it set off jubilant celebrations now remembered as V-J Day.
In Japan it was already August 15. At noon Tokyo time, Emperor Hirohito addressed his people by radio—the first time most had ever heard their emperor’s voice—telling them to “endure the unendurable” and accept the Allied terms of the Potsdam Declaration.
Crowds poured into Times Square as a war that had killed tens of millions finally drew to its close.
The fighting was over, but the legal end came later: Japanese officials signed the formal Instrument of Surrender aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945.
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