Japan’s formal surrender ceremony aboard USS Missouri lasted 23 minutes.
The ceremony began shortly after 9:00 a.m. on 2 September 1945 in Tokyo Bay. Japanese representatives first signed the Instrument of Surrender, followed by General Douglas MacArthur and representatives of the Allied powers. The proceedings concluded at approximately 9:25 a.m.
Mamoru Shigemitsu signed for the Japanese government, and General Yoshijirō Umezu signed for Imperial General Headquarters. MacArthur then accepted the surrender for the Allied powers. Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz and representatives of eight other Allied nations followed him.
Although brief, the ceremony was carefully staged and broadcast internationally. It formally ended hostilities between Japan and the Allied powers, while additional regional surrender ceremonies continued afterward. The event is often associated with V-J Day, but different countries observed the end of the war on different dates because news crossed international time zones.