USS Missouri was anchored in Tokyo Bay during the 1945 Japanese surrender ceremony.
The signing took place on 2 September 1945, shortly after 9 a.m. Japan Standard Time. Japanese government representatives boarded the American battleship and signed the Japanese Instrument of Surrender before General Douglas MacArthur and representatives of the Allied nations.
Tokyo Bay provided a setting close to Japan’s capital while allowing a large Allied naval presence to observe the event. About 250 Allied vessels were in the area, including British and Australian ships and a Dutch hospital ship. The ceremony’s maritime location also emphasized the enormous naval power that had surrounded Japan by the end of the Pacific War.
Tokyo Bay is not the same place as the city of Tokyo itself, although the bay borders the capital region. Another common confusion is the date: Hirohito’s radio announcement occurred on 15 August, but the signed instrument in Tokyo Bay came nearly three weeks later.