Where did Japan’s formal World War II surrender ceremony take place?

Japan’s formal World War II surrender ceremony took place in Tokyo Bay aboard USS Missouri.

The battleship was anchored in the bay on September 2, 1945, close to the Japanese capital. The setting allowed the Allies to conduct the ceremony in Japanese waters while using a U.S. Navy flagship as the official venue. Japanese officials traveled from Yokohama to the ship before the signing began.

Tokyo Bay is not the same place as Pearl Harbor, where Japan’s attack brought the United States into the Pacific War in December 1941. Nor was the formal surrender held in Yokohama itself, even though the Japanese delegation boarded its transport there. These nearby locations are sometimes blended together in popular retellings.

The ceremony’s position in Tokyo Bay also reflected the Allied military presence surrounding Japan at the war’s end. Hundreds of Allied vessels were in or near the bay. After the document was signed, the surrender took effect and Japanese forces were required to stop fighting and follow Allied occupation instructions.