Where did the formal Japanese surrender ceremony take place in 1945?

The formal Japanese surrender ceremony took place in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945.

Japanese representatives boarded USS Missouri, which was anchored in the bay, and signed the Japanese Instrument of Surrender before Allied representatives. The location placed the ceremony close to Japan’s capital while keeping it aboard an Allied warship.

The setting was also symbolically important because Allied naval forces controlled the waters around Japan after the war’s final campaigns. Around 250 Allied vessels were reported in the area, including ships from several nations. Aircraft also flew over the ceremony as it concluded.

Tokyo Bay is sometimes mistaken for Yokohama Harbor because the Japanese delegation traveled from Yokohama before transferring to Missouri. The signing itself was not held in a government building or on land. It occurred on the battleship’s deck in Tokyo Bay, where the formal act of surrender was witnessed internationally.