At Japan’s 1945 surrender ceremony, which Allied general formally accepted Japan’s capitulation?

Douglas MacArthur formally accepted Japan’s capitulation at the 1945 surrender ceremony.

MacArthur served as Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers and presided over the signing aboard USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. He opened the ceremony with brief remarks and signed the Instrument of Surrender on behalf of the Allied powers.

Admiral Chester W. Nimitz signed separately for the United States. This is a frequent source of confusion because Nimitz was the senior U.S. naval commander in the Pacific, while MacArthur held the broader Allied occupation command.

After the ceremony, MacArthur became the central Allied authority in occupied Japan. He supervised major political, legal, and economic reforms, including demilitarization and the creation of a new Japanese constitution. His role at the ceremony symbolized the transfer from wartime command to postwar occupation administration.