What does “V-J Day” stand for in accounts of Japan’s 1945 surrender?

“V-J Day” stands for Victory over Japan Day, the name used for Japan’s defeat and surrender in 1945.

The abbreviation parallels V-E Day, which marked Nazi Germany’s surrender in Europe. In the United States, V-J Day commonly refers to August 14, 1945, when President Harry S. Truman announced that Japan had accepted the Allied surrender terms. Because of time-zone differences, newspapers and governments elsewhere often marked August 15 instead.

The term can also be associated with September 2, 1945, when Japanese representatives formally signed the Instrument of Surrender aboard USS Missouri. That distinction causes a frequent mix-up: the August date concerns the announcement and acceptance, while September 2 marks the formal signing ceremony.

Australia used the related expression V-P Day, meaning Victory in the Pacific. The surrender ended the main fighting of World War II, although some Japanese troops did not immediately receive or obey the surrender order in every isolated location.