Nine Allied nations signed the 1945 Japanese Instrument of Surrender alongside Japan.
The Allied signatories represented the United States, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, Australia, Canada, France, the Netherlands, and New Zealand. Douglas MacArthur signed first for the Allied powers as Supreme Commander, followed by representatives of those nine governments.
The ceremony took place on 2 September 1945 aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. Japan’s two signatories signed before the Allied representatives: Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu for the Japanese government and General Yoshijirō Umezu for Imperial General Headquarters.
The number can be confusing because more than nine Allied countries fought Japan or supported the wider war effort. The ceremony counted the governments with official representatives signing the document, not every country that had participated in the Pacific War. The United Kingdom and the dominions of Australia, Canada, and New Zealand signed separately at the ceremony.