Nine Allied countries signed Japan’s 1945 Instrument of Surrender alongside Japanese representatives.
The Allied signatories represented the United States, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, Australia, Canada, France, the Netherlands, and New Zealand. The ceremony took place aboard USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945.
Douglas MacArthur signed first for the Allied powers, followed by Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz for the United States. The other national representatives signed in sequence, making the ceremony a visible demonstration of the broad coalition that had fought Japan.
The nine Allied countries are sometimes confused with the total number of Japanese delegates or with the number of representatives physically present. Japan’s delegation included eleven officials, but only Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu and General Yoshijirō Umezu signed the instrument. The ceremony lasted approximately 23 minutes and was broadcast internationally.