Which date marks the formal signing ceremony that ended World War II with Japan?

September 2, 1945, marks the formal signing ceremony that ended World War II with Japan. Japanese representatives signed the surrender documents aboard USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on that date.

The ceremony followed Emperor Hirohito’s radio announcement on August 15 that Japan had accepted the Potsdam Declaration. August 15 is commonly called V-J Day in Japan and is also observed as Victory over Japan Day in several countries, but it was not the date on which the formal surrender instrument was signed.

The September 2 ceremony brought together Japanese and Allied representatives. Mamoru Shigemitsu and Yoshijirō Umezu signed for Japan, while Douglas MacArthur accepted the surrender for the Allies. Representatives from the United States, China, Britain, the Soviet Union, Australia, Canada, France, the Netherlands, and New Zealand then signed. Regional Japanese commands surrendered separately afterward, including the ceremony in Nanjing on September 9.