The Japanese Instrument of Surrender took effect at 9:25 a.m. Japan Standard Time on September 2, 1945.
The document was signed aboard USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. Japanese representatives signed first, followed by Douglas MacArthur and representatives of the United States, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, Australia, Canada, France, the Netherlands, and New Zealand.
The ceremony began shortly after 9 a.m. and lasted 23 minutes. The official end time is more precise than the general date because the surrender instrument specified the legal completion of the ceremony.
This time is often overlooked because August 15 is the better-known public announcement date. At noon on that day, Hirohito’s recorded speech told Japan’s population that the government had accepted the Allied terms. The formal legal act came 18 days later.