After Chester Nimitz, representatives of eight other Allied nations signed Japan’s surrender document.
The ceremony followed a carefully arranged order. General Douglas MacArthur signed first for the Allied powers, and Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz signed as the representative of the United States. Delegates from eight additional Allied nations then signed the document.
Those nations were China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, Australia, Canada, France, the Netherlands, and New Zealand. Their participation emphasized that Japan’s defeat was an Allied achievement rather than a settlement made solely between Japan and the United States.
The Chinese representative was General Xu Yongchang, while Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser signed for Britain. Soviet Lieutenant General Kuzma Derevyanko, French General Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque, and other national representatives completed the Allied signatures. The ceremony ended at about 9:25 a.m. Tokyo time.