Where was Japan’s 1945 surrender document signed?

Japan’s 1945 surrender document was signed in Tokyo Bay.

The ceremony was held aboard the United States battleship USS Missouri, which was anchored in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945. The location placed the ceremony close to Japan’s capital while allowing a large Allied naval presence to witness the event.

About 250 Allied vessels were in the surrounding waters, including American, British, Australian, and Dutch ships. The setting also made the surrender unmistakably maritime, linking the ceremony to the long Pacific War campaign.

Tokyo Bay is sometimes confused with Yokohama Harbor because the Japanese delegation traveled from Tokyo to Yokohama before boarding a small boat for the Missouri. Pearl Harbor was another major Pacific War location, but it was in Hawaii and was not the site of Japan’s surrender. The document was signed on a temporary table covered with green felt on the battleship’s deck.