Japan’s formal surrender was signed aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. The ceremony on 2 September 1945 brought Japanese representatives together with Allied signatories on an American battleship anchored near Japan’s capital.
Tokyo Bay was strategically important during the final stage of the Pacific War. It provided a sheltered anchorage for the Missouri and a large Allied naval presence while avoiding the need to hold the ceremony inside a Japanese government building. The surrender fleet included hundreds of Allied vessels in and around the bay.
The location also connected the ceremony directly to the coming occupation. Allied forces soon began landing in Japan, and General Douglas MacArthur became Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers. The signed instrument required Japan to accept the terms of the Potsdam Declaration and surrender its armed forces.
Tokyo Bay is sometimes confused with Yokohama, where the Japanese delegation boarded a launch to reach Missouri. The document itself, however, identifies the signing location as Tokyo Bay.