What document did Japanese representatives sign to end World War II in 1945?

Japanese representatives signed the Japanese Instrument of Surrender to end World War II’s hostilities with the Allied powers. The document was signed aboard USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945.

The instrument formalized Japan’s capitulation under the terms previously set out in the Potsdam Declaration. Mamoru Shigemitsu signed for the Japanese government, and General Yoshijiro Umezu signed for Imperial General Headquarters. Douglas MacArthur then signed for the Allied powers.

It was not a peace treaty. A peace treaty came later, with the Treaty of San Francisco signed in 1951 and taking effect in 1952. The 1945 instrument dealt with surrender, military disarmament, and the immediate end of hostilities, while the later treaty addressed Japan’s formal postwar peace settlement.