Which American general opened Japan’s surrender ceremony aboard USS Missouri in 1945?

General Douglas MacArthur opened Japan’s surrender ceremony aboard USS Missouri in 1945.

MacArthur served as Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers and presided over the formal ceremony in Tokyo Bay on September 2. At about 9:02 a.m., he addressed the assembled representatives and the worldwide radio audience before the signatures began.

MacArthur signed the Instrument of Surrender on behalf of the Allied powers. Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz then signed for the United States, while representatives of other Allied nations signed afterward. Japan was represented first by Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu and then by General Yoshijirō Umezu.

MacArthur’s role is sometimes confused with Nimitz’s because both were senior American commanders in the Pacific. MacArthur led the Allied occupation and signed as the Allied supreme commander; Nimitz represented the United States Navy and signed separately for the United States.