What was the name of the U.S. order directing Japanese forces to surrender after Japan’s capitulation?

The U.S. order directing Japanese forces to surrender was General Order No. 1.

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 to Japan after the surrender and it was transmitted through Japan’s Imperial General Headquarters to the armed forces.

The order required Japanese forces to cease hostilities, surrender to designated Allied commanders, reveal military deployments, and preserve equipment for disarmament. It also laid out how Japanese forces in territories across Asia and the Pacific would surrender to different Allied commands.

One important consequence concerned Korea. Japanese forces north of the 38th parallel were ordered to surrender to Soviet forces, while those south of it surrendered to U.S. forces. General Order No. 1 therefore helped establish the wartime division that shaped Korea’s postwar history.