In his extended address, the emperor justified the attack on Pearl Harbor and referred to the United States’ use of “a new and most cruel bomb.” Without using the word “defeat,” he stated only that “the war situation has developed not necessarily to Japan’s advantage.” The emperor portrayed Japan’s surrender decision as a heroic and humane act—to prevent not only the “ultimate collapse and obliteration of the Japanese nation,” but also the “total extinction of human civilization.” He implored the Japanese people to “suffer what is insufferable” with “sincerity and integrity.”
