The Japanese surrender ceremony aboard USS Missouri lasted 23 minutes in 1945.
The ceremony began shortly after 9:00 a.m. on September 2, 1945, in Tokyo Bay. Japanese representatives signed the Instrument of Surrender first, followed by General Douglas MacArthur and representatives of the Allied powers, including the United States, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, Australia, Canada, France, the Netherlands, and New Zealand.
MacArthur delivered brief concluding remarks after the signatures were completed. The formal proceedings ended at about 9:25 a.m., and the document took effect as the ceremony concluded.
The short duration reflected careful planning and the ceremony's narrow purpose: to record Japan's capitulation. It was not a peace treaty. The state of war with the Allied powers formally ended later through postwar settlements, including the Treaty of San Francisco, which entered into force in 1952.