On what date did Japan sign the formal surrender document ending World War II?

Japan signed the formal surrender document ending World War II on 2 September 1945.

The document was the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, a printed agreement that formalized Japan’s capitulation to the Allied powers. Japanese representatives signed it during a ceremony aboard the American battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay shortly after 9 a.m. Japan Standard Time.

The signing followed Japan’s 15 August announcement that it would accept the Potsdam Declaration. That announcement ended organized Japanese resistance in principle, but the written instrument supplied the formal legal and military act of surrender. The ceremony concluded at about 9:25 a.m., after representatives of Japan and the Allied nations had signed.

The date is sometimes confused with V-J Day’s other commonly used date, 15 August, which commemorates the surrender announcement in Japan. In the United States, 2 September is the official commemoration date. The document was signed by representatives of Japan, the United States, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, Australia, Canada, France, the Netherlands and New Zealand.