The Japanese Instrument of Surrender was signed in Tokyo Bay in September 1945.
The ceremony took place aboard USS Missouri on September 2, 1945. Tokyo Bay was chosen because it placed the ceremony close to Japan’s capital while allowing a large Allied naval presence to remain offshore. Around 250 Allied vessels were in the surrounding waters, symbolizing Japan’s defeat and the scale of the Pacific conflict.
General Douglas MacArthur opened the proceedings and signed for the Allied powers. Japanese delegates then signed the printed instrument, which accepted the terms of the Potsdam Declaration and committed Japan to cease hostilities. The document became effective at 9:25 a.m. Japan Standard Time.
Tokyo Bay is sometimes confused with Pearl Harbor, the Hawaiian naval base attacked by Japan in December 1941. Pearl Harbor marked the United States’ entry into the Pacific War; Tokyo Bay marked the formal conclusion of that conflict. The signing location also differs from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which were the cities targeted by atomic bombings in August 1945.