On which ship was Japan’s formal surrender ceremony held in Tokyo Bay?

Japan’s formal surrender ceremony was held aboard USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. The American battleship hosted the signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender on September 2, 1945.

Missouri was an Iowa-class battleship commissioned in June 1944. It had served in the Pacific during the final year of the war, including operations around Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Its location in Tokyo Bay allowed the ceremony to take place close to Japan while surrounded by Allied naval forces.

The signing occurred on the ship’s deck shortly after 9 a.m. Tokyo time. Japanese representatives signed first, followed by General Douglas MacArthur for the Allied powers and representatives of the United States, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, Australia, Canada, France, the Netherlands, and New Zealand.

The ship later became a museum and memorial at Pearl Harbor. Visitors can see the deck area identified as the surrender site, although the ceremony itself took place in Tokyo Bay, not Hawaii.