General Douglas MacArthur accepted Japan’s surrender for the Allied powers at the 2 September 1945 ceremony aboard USS Missouri.
MacArthur served as Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers and signed the Japanese Instrument of Surrender in that capacity. He had commanded Allied forces in the Southwest Pacific Area and had returned to the Philippines in October 1944 after making his famous “I shall return” promise.
MacArthur was not the only senior Allied commander present. Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz signed immediately after him as the representative of the United States, while representatives of China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, Australia, Canada, France, the Netherlands and New Zealand followed.
A common mix-up is to identify Nimitz as the person who accepted Japan’s surrender. Nimitz represented the United States, but MacArthur performed the formal acceptance on behalf of the Allied powers. The ceremony lasted about 23 minutes and ended at 9:25 a.m. Japan Standard Time.