The USS Missouri ceremony for Japan’s surrender took place in Tokyo Bay.
The battleship was anchored in the bay on 2 September 1945, allowing the formal ceremony to occur near Tokyo while remaining aboard a naval vessel. Japanese representatives traveled from Yokohama to the Missouri, which was part of the Allied fleet gathered in the area.
Tokyo Bay was strategically important during the occupation because it provided access to Japan’s capital and major ports. Allied forces began entering and securing Japanese territory in the days surrounding the formal surrender.
The location is sometimes described simply as “aboard the Missouri,” which can obscure the geographic setting. Tokyo Bay is the specific body of water named in accounts of the signing, while the nearby city of Tokyo was not the ceremony’s exact location.