On what date did the United States announce Japan’s surrender as V-J Day in 1945?

The United States announced Japan’s surrender as V-J Day on August 14, 1945.

The date differs from August 15 in Japan because of the time difference. Hirohito’s recorded announcement was broadcast in Japan shortly after noon on August 15, while President Harry S. Truman’s announcement reached the United States on the evening of August 14. American newspapers and other Allied countries used the V-J Day label for that announcement.

The date can also be confused with September 2, 1945. On September 2, Japanese representatives formally signed the Japanese Instrument of Surrender aboard USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. That ceremony ended the war in a legal and ceremonial sense, while the August announcements conveyed Japan’s decision to surrender.

The term V-J Day has therefore been used for more than one related milestone. In the United States, August 14 was the widely celebrated announcement date in 1945, while September 2 later became the official commemoration date.