President Harry S. Truman announced Japan’s surrender to the US public on August 14, 1945.
The announcement came after Japan accepted the Allied terms outlined in the Potsdam Declaration. Truman’s radio address followed the Japanese government’s decision to surrender and preceded the formal signing of the surrender document.
The date can be confusing because Japan announced the surrender to its own people on August 15, according to Japanese local time. The formal Instrument of Surrender was then signed aboard USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on September 2. Because of time-zone differences, August 14 became the principal V-J Day date in the United States, while August 15 is commonly observed in many other countries.
Truman’s announcement marked the end of major combat, but the legal conclusion of the war came with the September ceremony.