Which 1951 treaty ended the Allied occupation and restored Japan’s sovereignty in 1952?

The Treaty of San Francisco ended the Allied occupation and restored Japan’s sovereignty in 1952.

Also called the Treaty of Peace with Japan, it was signed on September 8, 1951, at the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco. The treaty came into force on April 28, 1952, ending the legal state of war with the participating Allied powers and terminating the Allied occupation of Japan.

The treaty was signed by Japan and 48 Allied nations. The Soviet Union attended the conference but did not sign the treaty. China was not invited because the United States and United Kingdom disagreed over whether the Republic of China or the People’s Republic of China represented China.

The treaty is separate from the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, signed in 1945. The instrument ended active hostilities and recorded Japan’s capitulation; the later peace treaty established the postwar legal settlement and returned full sovereignty. Japan and the Soviet Union separately ended their state of war through the 1956 Soviet–Japanese Joint Declaration.