On what date was Japan’s surrender formally signed aboard USS Missouri in 1945?

Japan’s surrender was formally signed aboard USS Missouri on 2 September 1945.

The ceremony took place on the battleship’s deck in Tokyo Bay shortly after 9 a.m. Japan Standard Time. Representatives of Japan signed the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, followed by representatives of the Allied powers.

The date is sometimes confused with 14 or 15 August 1945. Those dates marked the announcement and broadcast of Japan’s acceptance of the Allied surrender terms, while 2 September marked the formal signing that legally ended hostilities.

The event is associated with Victory over Japan Day, or V-J Day. The signing followed weeks of intense developments, including the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Soviet declaration of war against Japan.