What two-word phrase does the abbreviation “V-J Day” mean in the context of Japan’s 1945 surrender?

“V-J Day” means “Victory over Japan” in accounts of Japan’s 1945 surrender.

The phrase was modeled on V-E Day, or Victory in Europe Day, which marked Nazi Germany’s defeat earlier in 1945. V-J Day became the common Allied expression for the end of the war against Japan and, by extension, the effective end of World War II.

The term can refer to more than one date because Japan announced its acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration on August 15 in Japan, August 14 in much of the Americas, while the surrender document was signed on September 2. The date used therefore depends on whether a source emphasizes the announcement or the formal signing.

Australia also commonly used “V-P Day,” meaning Victory in the Pacific. That regional wording is related but is not the expansion of the abbreviation V-J, whose canonical form is “Victory over Japan.”