The Japanese surrender ceremony took place aboard USS Missouri on September 2, 1945. The battleship was anchored in Tokyo Bay, close to the Japanese capital, when representatives signed the Instrument of Surrender.
Missouri was a recently commissioned Iowa-class battleship and had served in the Pacific during the final months of the war. Its broad deck provided space for Japanese and Allied delegations, military officers, and invited observers during the ceremony.
General Douglas MacArthur presided over the proceedings as Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers. Japanese representatives signed first, followed by representatives of the United States, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, Australia, Canada, France, the Netherlands, and New Zealand.
The ceremony aboard Missouri is often treated as the symbolic end of World War II. The ship later became a museum at Pearl Harbor, where visitors can see a marker identifying the spot where the surrender document was signed.