Eleven Japanese representatives signed or participated for Japan at the September 2, 1945 surrender ceremony.
Only two Japanese officials actually signed the instrument: Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu for the Japanese government and General Yoshijirō Umezu for Imperial General Headquarters. Nine additional Japanese delegates accompanied them, representing the army, navy, and Foreign Ministry.
The Japanese delegation had been selected after Prime Minister Kantarō Suzuki’s government resigned and the Higashikuni Cabinet took office. Emperor Hirohito personally appealed to the senior military representative to attend, since the task was politically humiliating and carried enormous symbolic weight.
The Allies had requested the names in advance but initially limited what was released to the press for security reasons. The delegation traveled from Tokyo to Yokohama before boarding a launch for USS Missouri. Its size reflects the ceremony’s effort to represent both the civilian government and the Imperial military command.