The 2 September 1945 surrender ceremony aboard USS Missouri began at about 9:00 a.m. Japan Standard Time.
The formal proceedings took place on the battleship’s deck in Tokyo Bay. Japanese representatives signed first, beginning with Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu, followed by General Yoshijirō Umezu. Douglas MacArthur then accepted the surrender on behalf of the Allied powers.
The ceremony lasted roughly 23 minutes. Allied representatives signed in sequence for the United States, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, Australia, Canada, France, the Netherlands and New Zealand. The Instrument of Surrender took effect at approximately 9:25 a.m. Japan Standard Time.
The start time can be confused with the time the document became effective. The ceremony began just after 9:00, while the legal surrender took effect later at 9:25. It also followed Japan’s public surrender announcement in August by more than two weeks; the Missouri event was the formal signing that ended the conflict.