In what would later become Victory Day, an official announcement of Japan’s unconditional surrender to the Allies was made public on August 14, 1945.
Even though the Japanese War Council, pressured by Emperor Hirohito, had already submitted a formal declaration of surrender to the Allies, via ambassadors, on August 10, fighting continued between the Japanese and the Soviets in Manchuria and between the Japanese and the United States in the South Pacific. In fact, two days after the Council agreed to surrender, a Japanese submarine attacked the Oak Hill, an American landing ship, and the Thomas F. Nickel, an American destroyer, both east of Okinawa.
WATCH: The Hiroshima Special: 75 Years Later Online Now.
On the afternoon of August 14 (August 15 in Japan, due to the time difference), Japanese radio announced that an imperial proclamation was soon to be made, accepting the terms of unconditional surrender drawn up at the Potsdam conference. This proclamation had already been registered by the emperor. The news did not go well, as more than 1,000 Japanese soldiers stormed the Imperial Palace in an attempt to find the proclamation and prevent it from being passed on to the Allies. The soldiers still loyal to Emperor Hirohito repelled the attackers.
That evening, General Anami, the member of the War Council most adamant against surrender, committed suicide. His reason: to atone for the defeat of the Japanese army and not to have to hear his emperor speak the words of surrender.
At the White House, US President Harry S. Truman relayed the news to the American people; celebrations erupted in Washington, DC and across the country.
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