The formal Japanese surrender ceremony aboard USS Missouri began at 9:02 a.m. local time on September 2, 1945.
General Douglas MacArthur stepped before the microphones at that time and opened the 23-minute ceremony. The Japanese delegation had arrived aboard the battleship shortly beforehand, led by Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu and General Yoshijirō Umezu.
The signing proceeded in a carefully arranged order. Shigemitsu signed first for the Japanese government, followed by Umezu for Imperial General Headquarters. MacArthur then accepted the surrender for the Allied powers, and representatives of nine Allied nations signed afterward.
The proceedings concluded at approximately 9:25 a.m. The 9:02 start time is distinct from the noon broadcast of Hirohito’s surrender announcement on August 15 and from the time the agreement took legal effect later that morning. These separate moments are why accounts of V-J Day can refer to different dates and events.