What was the name of the document Japan signed to formalize its surrender in 1945?

The document Japan signed to formalize its surrender in 1945 was the Japanese Instrument of Surrender.

The printed agreement was signed aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945. It formalized Japan’s capitulation and brought the hostilities of World War II to an official end. The document stated that Japan accepted the provisions of the Potsdam Declaration.

Mamoru Shigemitsu signed for the Japanese government, while General Yoshijiro Umezu signed for Imperial General Headquarters. General Douglas MacArthur accepted the surrender 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 is distinct from the Potsdam Declaration, which had demanded Japan’s surrender in July. It is also distinct from the later Treaty of San Francisco, which formally ended the Allied occupation and restored Japan’s sovereignty in 1952. The surrender instrument was the wartime capitulation document, not a long-term peace treaty.