Japanese surrender on USS Missouri
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2 September, 1945


The Japanese Instrument of Surrender was the written agreement that enabled the Surrender 
of Japan, ending World War II. It was signed by representatives from the Empire of Japan, 
the United States of America, the Republic of China, the United Kingdom, the Union of Soviet 
Socialist Republics, the Commonwealth of Australia, the Dominion of Canada, the Provisional 
Government of the French Republic, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and the Dominion of New 
Zealand on the deck of the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945. The date is 
sometimes known as Victory over Japan Day, although that designation is more frequently used 
to refer to the date of Emperor Hirohito's Gyokuon-hoso (Imperial Rescript of Surrender), the 
radio broadcast announcement of the acceptance of the terms of the Potsdam Declaration at noon 
Japan standard time on August 15.

The ceremony aboard the deck of the Missouri lasted twenty-three minutes and was broadcast 
throughout the world. The instrument was first signed by the Japanese foreign minister Mamoru 
Shigemitsu "By Command and on behalf of the Emperor of Japan and the Japanese Government" 
(9:04 a.m.). Then General Yoshijiro Umezu, Chief of the Army General Staff, "By Command and on 
behalf of the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters" signed (9:06 a.m.). Afterwards, U.S. 
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, Commander in the Southwest Pacific and Supreme Commander 
for the Allied Powers, also signed (9:08 a.m.). As witnesses, U.S. Lieutenant General Jonathan 
Mayhew Wainwright IV, who had surrendered the Philippines, and British Lieutenant General Arthur 
Percival, who had surrendered Singapore, received two of the six pens they used to sign the 
instrument. Another pen went to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and one to his aide. 
All of the pens used by MacArthur were black, except the last which was plum coloured and went 
to his wife. A replica of it, along with copies of the instrument of surrender, is in a case on 
the Missouri by the plaque marking the signing spot.

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On September 2, 1945, the Japanese representatives signed the official Instrument of Surrender, 
prepared by the War Department and approved by President Truman. It set out in eight short 
paragraphs the complete capitulation of Japan. The opening words, "We, acting by command of and 
in behalf of the Emperor of Japan," signified the importance attached to the Emperor's role by 
the Americans who drafted the document. The short second paragraph went straight to the heart of 
the matter: "We hereby proclaim the unconditional surrender to the Allied Powers of the Japanese 
Imperial General Headquarters and of all Japanese armed forces and all armed forces under 
Japanese control wherever situated."

That morning, on the deck of the U.S.S. Missouri in Tokyo Bay, the Japanese envoys Foreign 
Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu and Gen. Yoshijiro Umezu signed their names on the Instrument of 
Surrender. The time was recorded as 4 minutes past 9 o'clock. Afterward, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, 
Commander in the Southwest Pacific and Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, also signed. 
He accepted the Japanese surrender "for the United States, Republic of China, United Kingdom, 
and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and in the interests of the other United Nations 
at war with Japan."

On September 6, Col. Bernard Thielen brought the surrender document and a second imperial 
rescript back to Washington, DC. The following day, Thielen presented the documents to President 
Truman in a formal White House ceremony. The documents were then exhibited at the National 
Archives after a dignified ceremony led by General Wainwright. Finally, on October 1, 1945, 
they were formally received (accessioned) into the holdings of the National Archives.