![]() NHK technicians were quietly called in for the recording. ![]() On the eve of the announcement, Hirohito met with top government officials to approve Japan's surrender inside a bunker dug at the palace compound.Īmid fear of violent protest by army officials refusing to end the war, the recording of Hirohito's announcement was made secretly. "The speech is a reminder of what it took to end the wrong war." ![]() "What's most important is the emperor reached out to the people to tell them that they had to surrender and end the war," he said. I think the speech would be incomprehensible to young people today."Įvery Japanese knows a part of the speech where Hirohito refers to his resolve for peace by "enduring the unendurable and suffering what is insufferable," a phrase repeatedly used in news and dramas about the war.īalance Hostages or Hamas? Cracks spread in Israeli unity over war aims. "I heard some people even thought they were supposed to fight even more. "Poor reception and sound quality of the radio made it even worse," she said. " It's well written if you read it, but I'm afraid not many people understood what he said." "The language was extremely difficult," said Tomie Kondo, 92, who listened to the 1945 broadcast in a monitoring room at public broadcaster NHK, where she worked as a newscaster. In it, the emperor's voice appears clearer, slightly higher and more intense, but, Japanese today would still have trouble understanding the arcane language used by Hirohito. On Saturday, the Imperial Household Agency released the digital version of the original sound ahead of the 70th anniversary of the speech and the war's end. Hirohito's "jewel voice" - muffled and nearly inaudible due to poor sound quality - was broadcast on Aug. The 4 ½-minute speech that has reverberated throughout Japan's modern history since it was delivered by Emperor Hirohito at the end of World War II has come back to life in digital form.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |