The Japanese surrender ceremony aboard USS Missouri was held in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945.
Tokyo Bay was chosen because the American battleship could anchor close to Japan’s capital while remaining part of a powerful Allied naval presence. The ceremony took place on the ship’s forward deck, where Japanese representatives signed the Instrument of Surrender before Allied commanders and observers.
The setting connected the ceremony to the wider Pacific War. USS Missouri was part of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, and ships from several Allied nations gathered in the bay. The location also allowed the ceremony to occur before Japan’s occupation administration was fully established in Tokyo.
Tokyo Bay is an inlet on Japan’s eastern coast, opening toward the Pacific Ocean and surrounding the approaches to Tokyo and Yokohama. The surrender ceremony was not held in Tokyo itself, which is why “Tokyo Bay” is the precise geographic answer.