What 1951 treaty created Japan’s postwar peace settlement with most Allied countries?

The Treaty of San Francisco created Japan’s postwar peace settlement with most Allied countries in 1951.

The treaty was signed in San Francisco on 8 September 1951 and entered into force on 28 April 1952. It formally ended the state of war between Japan and many of the Allied powers and restored Japan’s sovereignty after the Allied occupation. Forty-eight countries signed the treaty, although the Soviet Union attended the conference and did not sign it.

The treaty required Japan to recognize the independence of Korea and renounce claims to territories including Taiwan and the Pescadores, the Kuril Islands, and parts of Sakhalin. Its territorial language later contributed to disputes because it did not always specify which country should receive every renounced territory.

The treaty is not the same as Japan’s 1945 Instrument of Surrender. The surrender instrument ended the fighting and established the basis for occupation; the San Francisco treaty established the later peace framework. Japan also signed a separate security treaty with the United States at the same time.