At what time did Japan’s formal surrender ceremony conclude in Tokyo Bay?

Japan’s formal surrender ceremony concluded at 9:25 a.m. Japan Standard Time on September 2, 1945. The signing took place aboard USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.

The ceremony began shortly after 9 a.m. and lasted about 23 minutes. Mamoru Shigemitsu and Yoshijirō Umezu signed for Japan, followed by General Douglas MacArthur and representatives of the Allied nations. The precise timing reflected the ceremony’s carefully planned order of signatures.

The 9:25 a.m. conclusion should not be confused with noon on August 15, when Emperor Hirohito’s radio broadcast announced Japan’s acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration. Those events were separated by eighteen days. The broadcast communicated the decision to the Japanese public, while the September ceremony completed the formal international surrender process.