Japan formally signed its surrender aboard USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945.
The Iowa-class battleship had entered service in 1944 and was one of the largest and most powerful battleships in the United States Navy. General Douglas MacArthur selected its deck as the setting for the surrender ceremony, which began shortly after 9 a.m. Japan Standard Time.
Japanese Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu and General Yoshijiro Umezu signed for Japan. MacArthur then 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.
USS Missouri remained historically significant after the ceremony. It later served in the Korean War and the Gulf War before becoming a museum ship at Pearl Harbor. The ship is often nicknamed “Mighty Mo.”