At what time did Japan’s Instrument of Surrender officially take effect?

Japan’s Instrument of Surrender officially took effect at 9:25 a.m. Japan Standard Time on 2 September 1945.

The signing began just after 9 a.m. aboard USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. Mamoru Shigemitsu signed for the Japanese government at 9:04, and General Douglas MacArthur signed for the Allied powers at 9:08. Representatives of the other Allied nations then added their signatures.

MacArthur delivered concluding remarks after the final signatures. At 9:25 a.m., the ceremony ended and the instrument became effective, marking the formal end of the war’s major hostilities.

This precise time is different from the dates associated with the public announcement of surrender. Hirohito’s radio message was broadcast in Japan on 15 August, while the announcement was heard in the United States on 14 August because of time zones. The legal ceremony occurred on 2 September.