Douglas MacArthur accepted Japan’s surrender and signed first for the Allied powers.
MacArthur served as Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers and presided over the ceremony aboard USS Missouri on 2 September 1945. He signed the Japanese Instrument of Surrender in that official capacity, representing the Allied nations.
After MacArthur signed, Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz signed for the United States. Representatives of China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, Australia, Canada, France, the Netherlands, and New Zealand followed.
MacArthur’s role is sometimes confused with Nimitz’s because both were senior American commanders in the Pacific. Nimitz represented the United States, while MacArthur signed first as the Allied supreme commander.