In the 1945 V-J Day story, what does the abbreviation “V-J” mean?

In the 1945 V-J Day story, “V-J” means Victory over Japan.

The abbreviation followed the earlier Allied term V-E Day, meaning Victory in Europe. V-J Day referred to Japan’s surrender and the effective end of World War II, although different countries used different dates for the observance.

In Japan, the surrender announcement was broadcast on August 15, 1945. In the United States and much of the Americas, the news arrived on August 14 because of time-zone differences. The formal surrender ceremony took place later, on September 2, aboard USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.

The phrase is sometimes confused with “Victory in the Pacific,” or V-P Day, a term especially associated with Australia. Both expressions describe the Allied victory over Japan, but V-J is the standard abbreviation in many English-language histories.