General Order No. 1 directed Japan’s armed forces to surrender to designated Allied commanders in 1945.
The United States Joint Chiefs of Staff prepared the order, and President Harry Truman approved it on 17 August 1945. General Douglas MacArthur issued it after Japan’s surrender, and Japanese Imperial General Headquarters transmitted it to Japanese forces on 2 September.
The order required Japanese forces to stop fighting, reveal their military deployments, preserve equipment, and obey instructions from Allied commanders. It also assigned surrender responsibilities across Japan’s former military areas in Asia and the Pacific.
General Order No. 1 had lasting geopolitical effects. Japanese forces north of the 38th parallel in Korea were directed to surrender to Soviet commanders, while those south of the line surrendered to American commanders. This arrangement helped create the postwar division of Korea.