What was the formal document signed aboard USS Missouri that ended Japan’s participation in World War II?

The formal document signed aboard USS Missouri was the Japanese Instrument of Surrender.

The instrument was signed in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945 and formalized Japan’s capitulation to the Allied powers. It required Japan to accept the terms of the Potsdam Declaration and ordered Japanese forces to cease hostilities and surrender. The document took effect at 9:25 a.m. Japan Standard Time.

Japanese Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu and General Yoshijirō Umezu signed for Japan. General Douglas MacArthur signed for the Allied powers, followed by representatives of the United States, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, Australia, Canada, France, the Netherlands, and New Zealand.

The instrument should not be confused with the Potsdam Declaration. The declaration, issued on 26 July 1945, stated the Allied terms and warned Japan of the consequences of refusing them. The surrender instrument was the later document that recorded Japan’s formal acceptance. The Treaty of San Francisco, signed in 1951, was a separate peace treaty that ended the Allied occupation framework.