Friday marks 80 years since Japan's then-Emperor Hirohito's announced the World War II surrender. But as older witnesses die and memories fade, questions remain in Japan about how the war should be taught to younger generations.  

A national ceremony took place at Tokyo’s Budokan Hall at noon, at the same moment when then-Emperor Hirohito’s 4-and-a-half-minute prerecorded speech aired on the national radio on August 15, 1945.

Hirohito’s voice, which most Japanese were hearing for the first time because he was considered a living god, was not easy to understand because of poor sound quality and the arcane language he used. 

The message was clear, though: Japan had lost the war.

Reiko Muto, a 97-year-old former nurse who survived the massive Tokyo firebombing just five months earlier as a 17-year-old nursing student, was at her hospital on that day 80 years ago.

Everyone gathered in an auditorium for "an important broadcast."

People cried when the emperor’s muffled voice came on the radio.

"The first thing that came to my mind was that now I could leave the lights on at night," Muto said, relieved for the war to be over.

The March 10, 1945, U.S. firebombing of Tokyo killed over 100,000 people. Truckloads of people with serious burns cried in pain and begged for water, but because of a shortage of medical supplies, the best she could do was to comfort them.

But the end of the war didn’t immediately end the hardship. Her hospital and nursing school were occupied by the allied powers, though she managed to graduate two years later and pursued a career in pediatric nursing.

Tamiko Sora, her two sisters and their parents barely survived the atomic bombing on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, when the blast destroyed her home just 1.4 kilometres (0.9 mile) from the hypocentre, and Sora’s face was burned. 

Her grandmother suffered severe burns, and her uncle and aunt were never found.

While taking shelter at a relatives’ home, her parents listened to the radio broadcast, but sound quality was particularly bad in Hiroshima because the atomic bombing destroyed key infrastructure.

Her grandmother, who died later that day, was deeply shocked about the announcement, Sora said.

Her grandmother's generation venerated the emperor, and his acknowledgement of Japan’s defeat must have discouraged her far more than the rest of the family imagined, Sora said.

Despite the sadness of her grandmother’s death, the surrender speech gave Sora peace of mind. 

The Nagasaki bombing and an attack on Hiroshima three days earlier together killed over 210,000 people and left many survivors with radiation-induced illnesses.

Hirohito’s responsibility for the war remains controversial today, and Japan has struggled to come to terms with its wartime past, both at home and in the Asian countries it invaded.

Hirohito’s son and grandson have repeatedly expressed deep remorse over the war, but prime ministers since 2013 have not apologized to Asian victims of Japan’s aggression as the government leans toward revisionism.

Hirohito’s grandson, current Emperor Naruhito, has repeatedly stressed the importance of telling the war's tragic history to younger generations.

He has travelled to Iwo Jima, Okinawa and Hiroshima, and is expected to visit Nagasaki with his daughter, Princess Aiko, in September.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who has signaled a more neutral view of Japan’s wartime history, has said he is determined to keep passing on the tragedy of the war.

But his leadership comes as emboldened ultra-conservatives in his party try to force him out over a July election loss.

AP video by Mayuko Ono and Ayaka McGill