Tokyo Bay hosted Japan’s formal surrender ceremony in 1945.
The ceremony took place on the deck of USS Missouri, anchored in Tokyo Bay, on September 2. The location placed the Allied fleet close to Japan’s capital while avoiding the need to hold the event inside a city still recovering from wartime destruction. Around 250 Allied vessels were present in the bay or nearby waters.
The setting also carried military and political meaning. Japan’s surrender was being accepted by the naval power that had defeated much of Japan’s maritime forces, and the battleship’s deck provided a controlled location for a multinational ceremony. The proceedings were broadcast and photographed around the world.
Tokyo Bay is a large inlet on Japan’s Pacific coast, opening toward the Philippine Sea. It is sometimes confused with nearby Sagami Bay, which lies southwest of the Miura Peninsula. The surrender ceremony itself was specifically aboard Missouri in Tokyo Bay.