The 1945 surrender ceremony ending Japan’s war in China was held in Nanjing.
The ceremony took place on September 9, 1945, at the auditorium of the Central Army Military Academy in Nanjing, then the capital of the Republic of China. General Yasuji Okamura signed for the Japanese forces, while General He Yingqin accepted the surrender for the Chinese Nationalist government and the Allies.
This event occurred one week after Japan’s formal surrender in Tokyo Bay. Japanese forces in China had received orders to surrender after Hirohito’s August 15 broadcast, but local ceremonies were arranged separately across the former Japanese empire.
Nanjing is sometimes confused with Tokyo because both cities hosted major surrender-related events. Tokyo Bay was the site of Japan’s national surrender ceremony, while Nanjing hosted the ceremony for Japanese forces in China. The date, September 9, is also remembered in China as a major World War II milestone.