On what date was Japan’s formal surrender ceremony held in Tokyo Bay in 1945?

Japan’s formal surrender ceremony was held on September 2, 1945, in Tokyo Bay.

Japanese representatives signed the Instrument of Surrender aboard the American battleship USS Missouri shortly after 9 a.m. Japan Standard Time. General Douglas MacArthur accepted the surrender on behalf of the Allied powers, while Admiral Chester Nimitz signed as the United States representative.

The ceremony followed Hirohito’s public surrender announcement on August 15. The earlier broadcast ended Japan’s organized war effort politically, but the September signing created the formal document that ended hostilities with the Allied nations. The instrument took effect at approximately 9:25 a.m.

Representatives from Japan and nine Allied countries took part in the signing. The ceremony is often associated with V-J Day, although different countries and time zones used different dates for commemorating Japan’s surrender. The Japanese Instrument of Surrender was not the later peace treaty that formally ended the state of war with every country.