Nine Allied nations signed Japan's surrender document at the USS Missouri ceremony. The signatories represented the United States, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, Australia, Canada, France, the Netherlands, and New Zealand.
General Douglas MacArthur signed first for the Allied powers as Supreme Commander. Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz then signed for the United States, followed by representatives of the other Allied governments.
The ceremony was carefully arranged to show the international coalition that had defeated Japan. Although many Allied forces were present in the Pacific, the formal document included representatives from these nine governments.
The Japanese side had two principal signatories: Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu for the government and General Yoshijirō Umezu for Imperial General Headquarters. The ceremony concluded at about 9:25 a.m. Japan Standard Time on 2 September 1945.