At what time did the Japanese Instrument of Surrender take effect aboard USS Missouri?

The Japanese Instrument of Surrender took effect at 9:25 a.m. Japan Standard Time aboard USS Missouri.

The ceremony began shortly after 9:00 a.m. on September 2, 1945, in Tokyo Bay. Japanese representatives first signed the document, followed by General Douglas MacArthur for the Allied powers and Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz for the United States. Representatives of seven other Allied countries then signed in sequence.

The ceremony itself lasted about 23 minutes. The 9:25 a.m. time marks the point at which the instrument became effective, rather than the moment when the first signature was written. This distinction matters because accounts often describe the surrender as occurring at 9:00 or 9:02, when MacArthur began the proceedings.

The event formally ended hostilities in World War II, although political settlements and peace treaties followed later. The Treaty of San Francisco, which restored Japan’s sovereignty after the occupation, did not take effect until April 28, 1952.