What was the formal surrender agreement signed by Japan on 2 September 1945 called?

The formal surrender agreement signed by Japan on 2 September 1945 was called the Japanese Instrument of Surrender. It was signed aboard USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay and marked the official end of hostilities with the Allied powers.

The document recorded Japan’s acceptance of the terms set out in the Potsdam Declaration. It required Japanese forces to cease resistance and surrender, while the Allied powers took responsibility for implementing the occupation and other postwar arrangements.

The Japanese copy and the Allied copy were signed during the same ceremony. Mamoru Shigemitsu represented the Japanese government, and Yoshijiro Umezu represented Imperial General Headquarters. Douglas MacArthur signed for the Allied powers.

The instrument should not be confused with the Treaty of San Francisco, which came later. That 1951 treaty formally ended the Allied occupation and restored Japan’s sovereignty in 1952; it was a peace treaty, not the 1945 surrender document.