Eleven Japanese delegates were listed to attend the 1945 surrender ceremony.
Only two of those eleven delegates signed the Instrument of Surrender: Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu and General Yoshijirō Umezu. The other nine represented Japan’s army, navy, and foreign ministry but did not sign the document.
The distinction between delegates and signatories is important. Contemporary reporting initially revealed only the two signers, while the full delegation included three representatives from each of the three principal Japanese institutional groups. The group traveled from Tokyo to Yokohama, boarded a smaller vessel, and then transferred to USS Missouri.
The Allied side also followed a carefully prescribed order. MacArthur signed for the Allied powers, followed by representatives of the United States, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, Australia, Canada, France, the Netherlands, and New Zealand. The ceremony’s seating and signature sequence were designed to show both Japanese authority and Allied unity.