On this day in 1945, an official announcement regarding Japan’s unconditional surrender to the Allies was made public to the Japanese populace.
Despite the Japanese War Council having already submitted a formal declaration of surrender to the Allies, as urged by Emperor Hirohito, fighting persisted between Japanese forces and the Soviets in Manchuria, as well as between Japanese forces and the United States in the South Pacific. Notably, merely two days after the Council’s agreement to surrender, a Japanese submarine attacked and sank the Oak Hill, an American landing ship, alongside the Thomas F. Nickel, an American destroyer, both situated east of Okinawa.
On the afternoon of August 14, Japanese radio declared that an Imperial Proclamation would soon be announced, accepting the unconditional surrender terms established at the Potsdam Conference. This proclamation had already been documented by the emperor. The news was met with resistance, as over 1,000 Japanese soldiers stormed the Imperial Palace in an effort to locate the proclamation and prevent its transmission to the Allies. However, soldiers still loyal to Emperor Hirohito successfully repelled the assailants.
That evening, General Anami, the War Council member most opposed to surrender, chose to end his life. His reasoning was to atone for the defeat of the Japanese army and to avoid hearing his emperor utter the words of surrender.
