Douglas MacArthur’s formal surrender ceremony aboard USS Missouri lasted 23 minutes.
The ceremony began at 9:02 a.m. on September 2, 1945, in Tokyo Bay. MacArthur opened the proceedings, after which Japanese representatives and Allied delegates signed the Instrument of Surrender. The event ended at approximately 9:25 a.m.
The ceremony was deliberately concise, but it carried enormous legal and symbolic importance. It ended Japan’s war with the Allied powers and marked the close of World War II’s major fighting, although occupation and localized surrender procedures continued afterward.
The 23-minute ceremony should not be confused with the time at which the surrender took effect, which is often given as 9:25 a.m. Japan Standard Time. Nor should it be confused with Hirohito’s radio broadcast on August 15, which was a separate event lasting about four minutes and thirty-six seconds.