Eleven Japanese representatives were present for the signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender.
Only two of the eleven Japanese delegates actually signed the document: Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu and General Yoshijiro Umezu. The remaining delegates represented Japan’s Foreign Ministry, Army, and Navy and attended as members of the official delegation.
The full group was selected during the final days before the ceremony. The Allies required the Japanese government to identify its representatives in advance, but the names of the two signatories received particular attention because they would formally commit both the government and military headquarters to surrender.
A frequent error is answering two, because only two Japanese officials signed. Two is the number of Japanese signatories, whereas eleven is the number of Japanese representatives present aboard Missouri. The Allied side included representatives from nine governments after MacArthur’s acceptance.