What U.S. military order directed Japanese forces where to surrender after Japan accepted Allied terms?

General Order No. 1 directed Japanese forces where to surrender after Japan accepted Allied terms.

The order was prepared by the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff and approved by President Harry Truman on 17 August 1945. General Douglas MacArthur then issued it as Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, and Japanese Imperial General Headquarters distributed it to Japan’s forces.

General Order No. 1 required Japanese forces to surrender to specified Allied commanders, reveal military deployments, and preserve equipment for disarmament. It also laid out occupation arrangements across Japan and territories previously controlled by Japan.

One important consequence concerned Korea. Japanese forces north of the 38th parallel were ordered to surrender to Soviet forces, while those south of the line surrendered to U.S. forces. The order therefore helped establish an immediate division that later became central to the separate development of North and South Korea.