Tokyo Bay hosted the 1945 V-J Day surrender ceremony aboard USS Missouri.
The formal ceremony took place on September 2, 1945, on the deck of the American battleship USS Missouri, anchored in Tokyo Bay. Japanese representatives signed the Instrument of Surrender there, ending organized hostilities between Japan and the Allied powers.
V-J Day can be confusing because two closely related dates are commonly used. Japan announced its acceptance of the Allied terms on August 15 in Japan, while the formal document was signed on September 2. Time-zone differences also meant the announcement was August 14 in parts of the Americas.
Tokyo Bay was not the same as the nearby Sagami Bay, where many Allied ships gathered before the ceremony. The location also explains why USS Missouri, rather than a government building in Tokyo, became the most recognizable setting associated with Japan’s surrender.