Japan signed the World War II Instrument of Surrender in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945.
The signing occurred aboard USS Missouri, which was anchored in Tokyo Bay near the Japanese capital. The ceremony began shortly after 9:00 a.m. Japan Standard Time and concluded at about 9:25 a.m. The document formalized Japan’s capitulation to the Allied powers and brought the Pacific War to its official close.
Tokyo Bay was a strategically important location because Allied naval forces had entered Japanese waters after the government accepted the Potsdam Declaration. The surrounding fleet demonstrated Allied military control while the ceremony remained close to Tokyo, where Japan’s government was based. Several hundred Allied vessels were nearby during the occupation preparations.
Tokyo Bay is sometimes confused with Yokohama, a major port on the same wider coastal region. The ceremony itself was not held in a government building or on Japanese soil, but on the deck of an American battleship in the bay.