What was the written agreement signed aboard USS Missouri in Japan’s 1945 surrender called?

The written agreement signed aboard USS Missouri was called the Japanese Instrument of Surrender. It formalized Japan’s capitulation to the Allied powers on September 2, 1945.

The instrument stated that Japan accepted the provisions of the Potsdam Declaration and ordered Japanese forces to cease hostilities. It was signed by Mamoru Shigemitsu for the Japanese government and Yoshijiro Umezu for the Imperial General Headquarters.

General Douglas MacArthur signed for the Allied powers, followed by representatives of the principal Allied nations. The ceremony ended at approximately 9:25 a.m. Japan Standard Time, after which Japan’s armed forces were formally bound to the surrender terms.

The instrument should not be confused with the Treaty of San Francisco. The instrument ended the wartime hostilities and established the surrender framework, while the later peace treaty, signed in 1951 and effective in 1952, formally ended Japan’s state of war with many Allied countries.