All language subtitles for 24.Hours.The.Japanese.Surrender.2025.1080p.WEBRip.x264.AAC-[YTS.BZ]

This programme contains
scenes of warfare

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and slave labour that some viewers
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12 noon.

This next 24 hours is absolutely
crucial to the ending of the war.

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Germany has surrendered,

but the war with their allies
is still raging.

If Japan keeps fighting,

Japan as a nation will be
totally destroyed.

For the first time
in the nation's history,

the Emperor will speak
to his people.

It's an extraordinary moment
for Japan,

suddenly facing a moment
where they have to admit defeat.

Behind the scenes,

deception, unrest,

and the fear of nuclear Armageddon

hang over Japan's leaders.

Throughout Japan,
there are still die-hard radicals.

They will take desperate actions.

The iconic celebrations of VJ Day
are etched on our collective memory,

but the end of the Second World War

was not a foregone conclusion.

All kinds of nightmare scenarios
could have played out.

Particularly in this
critical last 24 hours.

This is the forgotten story
of Victory in Japan Day...

..and the official end
of World War II.

In a secret bunker under
the Imperial Palace in Tokyo,

a conference is under way,

the outcome of which will decide
the fate of Japan and its emperor.

Japan has been at war
with the Allied forces

of the United States,
Great Britain and China

since December 1941.

As of August 14th,

Japan is being encircled
by Allied powers

that are bombing regularly.

People are starving.

Cities are devastated.

But Japan still controls

a powerful and vast army
and territory,

so it's really in a position
to keep fighting.

It has been almost a month since
the Allied leaders demanded

Japan's surrender in a document
known as the Potsdam Declaration.

The declaration sets out their terms
for an unconditional surrender,

which included the promise of

Japan's prompt and utter
destruction,

should they choose
to continue fighting.

This was no idle threat.

In an exceptional show of force,

the United States dropped
the first atomic bomb

on the city of Hiroshima.

The Soviets then made

a shock entrance into the war,

invading Japanese-held territories

in China and Korea.

It must have seemed to the Emperor

and his generals as if things

could not get any worse.

And then the United States
dropped the second

atomic bomb, on Nagasaki.

So they needed to act quick.

Believing the situation is hopeless,

the Emperor accepts
that the war must end now.

But the unconditional surrender
offered by the Allies

fails to address one key concern -

what will happen to the Emperor?

Emperor Hirohito
is sovereign of state

and commander in chief,

and he rules Japan.

He's also a divine figure.

He is the manifestation

of racial and cultural
identity of Japan,

and therefore he is
considered as the state itself.

The Japanese government
have already offered to surrender,

with one condition -

the Emperor's continuing
sovereignty must be guaranteed.

But the response from the US
failed to give any assurances.

It was a concern that if
the Allies accepted conditions,

this would feel like
a threat to future peace.

This response has left everyone in
the Japanese cabinet conflicted.

How can they surrender
if the Emperor,

and their nation's future,
is at risk?

In the underground bunker,

tensions are running high

as they deliberate over
the fate of their nation.

They're meeting in this
very hot, foetid air

of this bunker and are

stuffed into this fairly small room.

The most important people
at the conference

are, first of all, the peace faction

led by Emperor Hirohito,

and supported by
the prime minister, Suzuki.

They believe that American

intentions are good -

once Japan accepts Potsdam ultimatum

and surrenders
under Allied occupation,

Japan will be able to keep
imperial institutions somehow.

But there is strong opposition
to this interpretation,

particularly from
the War Minister, General Anami.

Anami's great concern is said
to have been

the fact that the Emperor's
future is unknown.

Decisions of this calibre must be
agreed unanimously by the cabinet...

..but they remain divided.

Knowing time is of the essence,

Prime Minister Suzuki takes
the highly unusual step

of requesting the Emperor's
sacred decision.

The idea that he would weigh in

on such a crucial decision
is kind of world shaking

within the Japanese government.

The Emperor declares his wish

that an Imperial rescript
be prepared,

announcing the termination
of the war.

It's an extraordinary
psychological moment.

We have to imagine that,
you know, here is Japan,

suddenly facing a moment where
they have to admit defeat.

It could be a disaster
for Japan as a nation.

Many of the cabinet members present

actually fell to the floor
and prostrated themselves

to express their apologies
for having lost the war

and placed the Emperor in
such an untenable situation.

As head of state and supreme
commander of the military,

the Emperor's word is final.

Japan must surrender.

But there are fears
that some in the military

will not accept the order.

Even the faithful War Minister,
General Anami, is under suspicion.

Along with other generals,

he believes they should
enact their Ketsu Go strategy,

arming every single Japanese citizen

with anything that
can be used as a weapon.

What the Japanese military is hoping

is that by engaging the whole of the
Japanese population in resistance,

an invasion would be impossible.

CHEERING

This extremist belief
that 100 million Japanese people

should fight to destruction

has created a potentially deadly
rift within the government.

For die-hards,

there is no tomorrow after
unconditional surrender.

It's worse than death.

People who believe that
Japan needs to surrender,

they're really walking on eggshells
because the word could leak out

and they could become
the target of assassins.

But secret moves to end the war
have already been leaked.

On that morning,
American planes flew over Tokyo

and dropped leaflets
instead of bombs.

The leaflets tell
the Japanese people

that the Japanese government
has agreed to surrender.

The Emperor, he's afraid
that these leaflets

will spark some sort of uprising

and the military might act

to take over the government,

so it seems like

time is running out.

Fearing an uprising,

the Emperor has taken
the unprecedented decision

to speak to his people
through a radio broadcast.

His voice alone will break
the news that the war must end.

He tells the attendees that,

"I will stand in front of
the microphone

"if it is necessary, to speak to
the whole Japanese people."

He wants it to be clear to
the Japanese people,

it's not the cabinet,
it's not a group of traitors

who has made this decision.

And when that word comes
from the Emperor himself,

then how can the leaders intervene?

Just a mile from the Imperial Palace

is a prisoner-of-war camp

holding up to 30 men.

Soldiers and civilians, from

the UK, US, Australia and Holland.

There are almost 800 camps
like this across Asia.

The conditions are just awful.

They are beaten constantly,
tortured.

Most of them are involved
in some kind of forced labour

in horrible conditions.

One prisoner is risking his life

by keeping a diary hidden
in the walls of his barracks.

When the Imperial Conference
is being held

to decide the end the war,

Frank Fujita is about nine blocks
from the Imperial Palace in Tokyo

at a camp that the prisoners
refer to as "Bunker Hill".

Frank is a 23-year-old Texan
soldier with Japanese heritage,

seen as a traitor by his captors.

The rumour mill is working overtime
at this point.

Two atomic bombs have been
dropped already,

one on Hiroshima, one on Nagasaki,

and they're worried the third one's
going to be on Tokyo.

And they're all very sick,

but they are hatching this plan
to try and escape.

Fujita says,
"We were sweating blood."

It's a really terribly anxious

24 hours for them.

Their fears are not unfounded.

At the Los Alamos Nuclear Laboratory
in New Mexico,

a third Atomic bomb is ready...

..waiting for President
Truman's order.

If he gives the word,

another Japanese city
could be annihilated.

Transcripts of
a top-secret telephone call

show discussions about how, and
when, to drop the next atomic bombs.

With production in full swing,

one atomic bomb
is being made every ten days.

Three will be ready
by the end of September.

Any delay to the surrender could
have apocalyptic consequences

for the people of Japan.

The doomsday clock is ticking.

With the threat of another
atomic bomb hanging over them,

and the possibility
of a military coup,

the cabinet go their separate ways

to begin making arrangements

for the Emperor's broadcast
announcing Japan's surrender.

Everything has to be done
very quickly

because people are worrying about

the possible third atomic bomb.

With no time to lose,

the directors of Japan's
national broadcaster, NHK,

are instructed to bring
a recording team to the palace

in two hours' time.

They are shocked to hear
there is to be an imperial message

broadcast to the nation.

Speaking to the public directly
is a radical idea.

The Emperor has never spoken
in public before.

The most effective way of
communicating something

that was beyond
the powers of imagination

of his imperial subjects
would best be accomplished

by him directly
addressing the nation.

The arrangements must be treated
with the utmost secrecy.

If word gets out, the surrender,

and their lives,

could be in danger.

After General Anami
leaves the meeting,

he is met by his brother-in-law,

Lieutenant Colonel Takeshita.

He has prepared a plan
to enact martial law

and prevent the surrender.

He's one of the younger officers,

who's trying to organise a coup,

with the idea that they
will sort of rescue the Emperor

from people who have poisoned his
mind and gotten him to surrender,

and so he wants Anami to approve
and support this idea.

Anami is tempted,
but he says nothing.

And he makes a last,
final appeal to Anami -

please, you know, resign your post
and the government will fall,

or announce again that we're
going to fight to the very end.

General Anami has to carry out
an impossible task.

He has to maintain the order
in the Imperial Army

while he follows Emperor's order.

In the past decade,

young firebrands within
the military have been responsible

for multiple deadly coups
and assassinations.

Anami somehow has to control those
radicals and avoid violence.

It's not just Takeshita who is
determined to continue fighting.

At the Imperial Guard's
headquarters,

Four junior officers are discussing

the impending surrender.

Young military officers,

not happy to surrender,

start a plot to stop
the Japanese government.

The ringleader is Major Hatanaka.

Major Hatanaka was
a middle-ranking staff officer

in the Military Affairs Bureau
of the War Ministry in Tokyo.

He was someone who had imbibed

the modern samurai Kool-Aid,
so to speak.

The all-out aim of Hatanaka
and his supporters

is simply to stop
the surrender from happening,

whether that's by interrupting that
broadcast of the Emperor's words,

or reaching the Emperor himself
to change his mind

and reverse the decision.

The young officers agree

they must continue fighting
to preserve the Imperial State.

They are willing to die traitors.

Around three o'clock PM, the NHK,

the Japan Broadcasting Corporation
team arrives with technicians,

and they are quickly
setting up the equipment

to record Emperor Hirohito's speech.

With no sign of
the official Japanese surrender,

a squadron of American B29 bombers

begins taking off
from Northwest Field in Guam.

Every 30 seconds, a plane takes off.

All 143 planes are laden with bombs

and heading for
the Japanese home islands.

As the planes begin their journey
across the Pacific,

General Anami is addressing his
officers at the War Ministry.

Thousands of Japanese soldiers have
died during the course of the war

because they refused to surrender.

I think Anami understands
the psychological crisis

these soldiers will be
going through,

which is why he takes the time
to talk to them.

Unfortunately, Hatanaka
and his fellow rebels

are not there
to hear Anami's speech.

4pm.

General Anami rejoins the cabinet

to debate the contents of
the imperial rescript.

Every minister must agree
to the wording

and sign before the Emperor
can make his recording.

The prisoners-of-war at Bunka Hill

are still watching the skies
with dread.

They're very concerned

whenever they saw a lone B29

because they knew that
it had been a single plane

that had dropped
the bomb in Hiroshima

and they immediately, you know,
freeze up, thinking, "This is it."

5pm brings more concerning news.

Frank learns that
the Imperial Government

has ordered martial law
throughout Japan.

Something serious is happening.

Martial law maybe indicated

that war was coming to an end,

and said, well, if that happens,

it's going to lead
to your death actually.

The end of the war may not
spell freedom for Frank.

It's one hour to
the Emperor's recording,

but General Anami
is digging in his heels

over the wording of the rescript,

refusing to accept anything
that suggests the war is lost.

He cannot allow his army
to be seen as the weaker side.

So Anami continues to fight
for the better expression.

So the compromise was

the war situation has not
developed to Japan's advantage.

The NHK team are anxiously awaiting
the arrival of the Emperor.

The Prime Ministerial Cabinet
were not aware

these manoeuvres were going on.

I think if they had known about
the coup attempt,

they would not have had
a five-hour meeting,

dithering over a couple of words,

and they would have gotten it out
as quickly as possible.

The delays haven't just allowed
the rebels to get organised.

Whilst the cabinet
argue over semantics...

..the Allies are still yet to learn
of any official plans to surrender.

If the surrender
is not announced in time,

a far greater tragedy will occur.

Truman is frustrated at what
he sees as pointless delays.

For the Americans, they don't know
what's going on in Tokyo,

and, of course,
they suspect the worst.

President Truman actually said

to the British Foreign Minister

that the United States may need to
drop the atomic bomb on Tokyo.

The whole of Tokyo is facing
atomic obliteration.

Time is running out,
so they had to act quickly.

At 8.30pm, the rescript is finally
signed by the Emperor.

The surrender broadcast
must wait until the following day.

At 9pm, August 14,

NHK actually broadcast
a special news

that an important announcement
is going to be made

at noon, August 15,
so everyone has to listen to it.

The people don't know
what to think of it.

Is it an announcement of victory?

Or is it an announcement
of more sacrifice?

Or worse?

At last, news of the surrender
can be transmitted to the Allies,

via their intermediaries
in Switzerland and Sweden.

The B29s laden with bombs
are 200 miles from Tokyo.

They're listening out
for the code word

which will tell them
to abandon the mission,

but no word comes.

Although informally, it was clear
that Japan planned to accept

the terms of surrender,

it had not formally done so yet,

and so the Allies
continued to fight on.

As the bombers approach Tokyo,

they are detected on Japanese radar
and the city goes into blackout.

Around 11pm, Emperor Hirohito

is about to leave the bunker.

A siren starts sounding,

alerting the coming
of the US bombers,

so he is told to return.

27 minutes later,
the all-clear signal is given.

The target is not Tokyo.

The Emperor can finally
make his recording.

When the Emperor goes
to record his speech,

the whole experience is surreal
for everybody involved.

The idea that the Emperor
is going to make a recording,

that people are going to
hear his voice.

To be even in the Emperor's presence
would have been unimaginable.

The Emperor steps
before the microphone.

He asks if he needs
to raise his voice,

how loud should he speak?

And the producer says,

"well, his normal
speaking voice is fine."

UNTRANSLATED

After the Emperor finishes
the first recording,

he asks how he's done,

and there were some unclear words,

so he tries the second recording

and he stumbles
and some words were wrong,

but time is running out.

Deciding that
the first take was best,

the vinyl records are ready
to be sent to the broadcast studio.

By the time the recording
is finished,

rumours reach the people involved

that there is a coup d'etat attempt

in and around
the Tokyo metropolitan area.

They worry that these
rebellious insurgents

may find the records
and destroy them.

They decide that
hiding the records

until everything becomes safe
is a must.

The Emperor's chamberlains
are tasked with protecting

the vinyl copies,

wrapping them in bags
before hiding them in a safe

within an office used
by the Empress's staff.

It's midnight in Tokyo

when President Truman breaks
the news he has received

Japan's surrender offer.

I have received this afternoon

a message from
the Japanese government.

I deem this reply a full acceptance
of the Potsdam Declaration,

which specifies the unconditional
surrender of Japan.

While the Allied nations
celebrate the news,

the Japanese people remain unaware

that their country
has agreed to surrender.

And until the Emperor's words
are broadcast,

his country will
continue to fight on.

On the 14th of August,

the Imperial Palace and
the person of the Emperor

has been guarded by
the Imperial Guards Division,

and it's regarded as the most
loyal division in the army.

Its job is really to protect
the person of the Emperor.

And its commander,
General Mori, is regarded as

one of his most trusted
army officers.

Major Hatanaka

and Lieutenant Colonel Shiizaki,

they go to General Mori,

the commander of
Imperial Guard's office

to persuade General Mori
to go along with the coup idea.

The idea is to kidnap the Emperor

and cut off communication between
the palace and the outside world.

But their impassioned attempts
to persuade Mori fall on deaf ears.

Mori emphatically refuses
one more time.

Hatanaka pulls out a pistol,

Mori calls Hatanaka a fool,

and Hatanaka shoots him.

GUNSHOT

Major Hatanaka takes
the seal of General Mori

and put on the false order,

which will be circulated
among palace guards.

Unaware the orders are forged,

the Imperial Guards begin
to surround the palace.

1am.

Tokyo is still in blackout.

The blackouts that are taking place

across Tokyo in response to
American raids

create the sense of destabilisation,
uncertainty, and chaos,

and that really helps for
the plotters of this coup

to convince others
to cooperate with them

and to consolidate their position.

With his false orders,

Hatanaka can now enact
his grand plan.

First of all, they were going to

occupy the palace grounds,
isolate the Emperor,

and they were going
to find the records,

destroy them,
preventing the broadcast,

and eventually persuading
the Emperor

to rescind the surrender.

They'd already murdered that night,

so they had blood on their swords,
they were ready.

The B29 bombers
have hit their target.

It's not Tokyo.

They have just destroyed
Japan's largest oil reserve.

With the fuel up in smoke,

there is no way Japan
can continue the war.

While the coup is unfolding
on the palace grounds,

and while the rebels are
hunting for the recordings,

General Anami has left his office.

He's gone back to his house.

He starts drinking sake.

He writes two messages
for posterity.

Anami is interrupted by the arrival
of his brother-in-law,

Lieutenant Colonel Takeshita,

who plans to persuade Anami
to endorse the coup.

But Takeshita realises
something is wrong.

Believing he has fulfilled
the Emperor's wishes,

but devastated by his role
in Japan's surrender,

Anami has decided he must now
take drastic action.

They sit and drink sake together,
until the small hours.

At the Imperial Palace,
the phone lines have all been cut.

There is no way to call for help
or to warn the Emperor.

40 Imperial Guards
are going room to room,

searching for the recordings.

They're searching in
the Imperial Household Ministry.

They're having
a difficult time of it.

The blackout triggered by
the American planes

is adding to the chaos.

They're fumbling around,
pretty much, in the dark.

So that blackout, as it turns out,

makes it more difficult for the
rebels to locate the recordings.

Risking their lives,

the household chamberlains
misdirect and confuse the guards,

hoping the coup will be quashed
before they discover the records.

If the army rebels confiscated
and destroyed the records,

preventing the surrender
broadcasts from being made,

the war would have continued
to be extended by days.

And when you're talking about days,

with a third Atomic Bomb
already headed towards

the Atomic Bombing Specialist Unit,

you're taking about a lot of
differences between life and death.

Away from the Imperial Household,

the Emperor is unaware

the coup he feared

is happening right outside.

All the time, the Emperor
has been safe, he's been in

a fortified building
in the palace grounds.

As the night progressed,
as dawn approached,

word began getting out
about Mori's murder.

When they are told
that Mori has been killed,

then the guards realise
that they've been lied to.

Having failed to intercept
the recordings,

Hatanaka makes a desperate
last-ditch attempt

to stop the surrender,

forcing his way into
the NHK broadcast studios.

Hatanaka confronts
the NHK announcer, Tateno,

and demands him
to give his airtime.

Realising he cannot
stop the broadcast,

Hatanaka believes he can make
his case to the people of Japan.

Hatanaka even threatens
this NHK announcer with a pistol.

He will do anything
to stop the broadcast.

But the announcer
in the broadcast booth

was very quick on his feet.

He explained to Major Hatanaka

that, since the city was still
under a warning alert

for a possible bombing raid,

he was not allowed
to let anybody else get on the air.

The Major pointed the pistol at
the NHK announcer's head repeatedly,

but the announcer didn't waver.

As the sun rises,

the rebel insurgents are rounded up

and the palace
is brought back under control.

Most of the soldiers involved
had no idea

they were part of a coup attempt.

At the NHK studios,

Hatanaka is still demanding
to be let on air.

The technicians have disconnected
the microphone as a precaution.

By 7am,

a phone call comes from
the Eastern District Army

to the NHK station,

saying that the coup d'etat attempt
is completely suppressed.

So NHK staff is more assertive this
time to tell Hatanaka to get out.

A devastated General Anami
has taken his own life.

General Anami's last poem
before his ritual suicide

simply conveys his apologies,

to the crime he committed,

and he wishes for
the rebuild of Japan.

To this day, historians wonder
what he meant by the great crime.

With his last words,

was Anami apologising

for failing to act
to prevent the coup?

Had he secretly supported it
by turning a blind eye?

Or was the perceived shame and
dishonour of the surrender,

shared by so many others in Japan,

too much for him to bear?

It's a horrible thing

to fight an all-out war
for eight years and to lose

and to have gained nothing

and, indeed, only lost as a result
of the widespread casualties,

the human cost of the war.

With palace seemingly
back under control,

the chamberlains decide it's time
to retrieve the recordings.

But the question is

how to get them out of the palace
without any rebels noticing?

There's two different sets

and one is rather ostentatiously
taken by a member of the ministry,

who drives off with them.

Whilst the decoy set
is paraded through the palace,

the records intended for broadcast
are smuggled out in a bento bag.

He slings it over his shoulder,

and then casually walks out the
building along with the records.

With just two hours
to the broadcast,

it's vital the recordings make it
safely to the studio.

Despite all of the efforts
of so many people,

there was a real possibility

that, had news of the existence
of those records been widespread,

there might have been
an effort to destroy them.

10.30am.

At the Imperial Palace,
a radio is set up,

ready for the Emperor to listen
to his own broadcast.

Just outside the gates,

Hatanaka and an accomplice
are handing out leaflets

in a last-ditch attempt
to derail the surrender.

One of them was on horseback
and the other on a motorcycle.

And, you know, just sort of
picture this scene

of these really fanatical officers,

riding around trying
to recruit supporters

and not having any luck,
not surprisingly.

Devastated that he had failed
to stop the surrender,

Hatanaka turns
his pistol on himself.

He committed suicide on the grounds
of the Imperial Palace -

an act of final apology
to His Majesty

for all the trouble he'd caused him.

The records are rushed
to Studio Eight,

where technicians
check the playback.

It feels sacrilegious but
necessary, given the situation.

The whole of Japan is waiting
to hear the Emperor.

It would be horrendous
if a technical issue

prevented the surrender.

As the record plays,

a soldier guarding
the studio goes berserk,

threatening to kill the NHK staff
to put a stop to the broadcast.

As the moment of
the broadcast approaches,

the people of Japan begin
assembling at their radios.

Across the nation,

people bow in anticipation of
hearing their Emperor's voice.

TRANSLATION:

Once the Emperor's subjects

heard that message,
that was it - game over.

The poor quality of the broadcast
means many of those listening

struggle to hear
or understand the address.

They have no idea
what he is talking about

because the imperial rescript
is written

in very old-fashioned Japanese,
pretty much like Latin.

That's not the language that
they actually use in daily life.

But at least they...

..understand that the Emperor
is telling them to

bear the unbearable and
then suffer the insufferable.

The fiercely debated wording

breaks the news to the people
that the war is over

so gently that some are left unsure
if Japan has actually surrendered.

A rather important omission in
the Emperor's speech is that

he does not use the word surrender.
Japan is not surrendering.

The news of the end of the war is
met with a multitude of reactions.

Initially, many people feel
a sense of relief

because war was nothing
but suffering to them,

sacrificing their
own family members,

their father, husband, sons,

who will never come back.

And they are told now
that war is over.

All those efforts for nothing.

And everything was wasted.

In Japanese word,
we call it "kyomukan" -

it's a feeling or sense of emptiness

and exhaustion and confusion.

All those things happened
on August 15th.

The Emperor's broadcast
brought to an end

a four-and-a-half-year war
with the Allies.

It's estimated that
25 million people died

in the course of
the Asia-Pacific War.

19 million of those were civilians.

CLEMENT ATTLEE:
Japan has today surrendered.

The last of our enemies is laid low.

Think at this time especially

of the prisoners in Japanese hands.

We rejoice that their sufferings
will soon be at an end.

Peace has once again
come to the world.

Thousands of men,
women and children

were still being held in
prisoner-of-war camps across Asia.

When the Emperor makes
his broadcast to the nation,

it doesn't result in the
immediate liberation of the POWs,

in Frank's camp or anywhere else.

Many prisoners-of-war were so weak
from starvation and forced labour

that they died before
their camps could be located.

Some were callously executed by
their guards as an act of revenge.

After weeks of waiting,

Frank and his fellow prisoners
were finally liberated

by an American fleet
on the 30th of August, 1945.

Frank, in fact, is so elated
he jumps into the water

to try and get to the boat,

and he finds that he's so weak
he can't keep himself above water,

and he's kicking himself
for risking his life in this way,

and somebody reaches down
and grabs him and pulls him out.

Like Frank, many of the soldiers and
civilians caught up in the conflict

had to wait months
to realise their own freedom.

For many, the horrors they
experienced never left them.

Emperor Hirohito's radio
broadcast on August the 15th, 1945

is a pivotal moment
in Japanese history,

symbolising both defeat
and a step toward rebuilding.

Japan itself had
a strange period of limbo

before the first Allied
landing parties began arriving.

18 days later,

a formal ceremony took place on the
deck of the battleship USS Missouri.

Japan signed peace treaties
to end, formally, World War II.

With the surrender,
Japan's military was disbanded.

To this day, they have only
a self-defence force.

Japan became an occupied nation,

but the Emperor remained
as a symbolic ruler.

The power that had once belonged
in the person of the Emperor,

that sovereignty, the legitimacy,

the beating heart of
the Japanese nation,

had been the Emperor.

But with the surrender,

sovereignty is transferred
to the Japanese people.

They have the right
to decide what direction

that Japan will take in the future.

Hirohito avoided being tried
as a war criminal,

but many in the upper echelons
of his government

and the military did not.

The atomic bombs, which were
being prepared to send to Japan

never left US soil.

The dropping of the atomic bombs
in Nagasaki and Hiroshima

triggered a nuclear arms race

the legacy of which
we still live with today.

Japan's decision to
surrender on August 15th

is certainly a historic moment.

It became the turning point
in Japanese history.

When the news broke, finally,

on August the 14th, 15th,

that the Japanese had accepted
the Potsdam ultimatum,

the Americans and British
Commonwealth celebrated.

Victory in Japan Day

marks the official end of
the Second World War.

PRESIDENT TRUMAN:
This is a time for great rejoicing

and a time for solemn contemplation.

With the destructive force of war
removed from the world,

we can turn now to the grave task
of preserving the peace,

which you gallant men
and women have won.

On this night of total victory,
we salute you.

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