USS Missouri was anchored in Tokyo Bay for Japan’s surrender ceremony.
On September 2, 1945, the Japanese delegation boarded the American battleship in the waters near Japan’s capital. Tokyo Bay provided a symbolic setting: the ceremony occurred close to the country whose government was accepting Allied occupation and disarmament terms, while the powerful American fleet demonstrated control of the surrounding sea.
The bay was also practical. Allied naval forces could assemble there, and the ceremony could be conducted aboard a warship rather than in a damaged city. Representatives from nine Allied nations participated in the formal signing, with General Douglas MacArthur presiding as Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers.
Tokyo Bay should not be confused with Pearl Harbor, the Hawaiian base attacked by Japan in December 1941. Nor should the ceremony be confused with later occupation events held in Tokyo. The surrender itself took place at sea, aboard Missouri, in Tokyo Bay.