Which date marks the formal signing of Japan’s surrender aboard USS Missouri?

The formal signing of Japan’s surrender aboard USS Missouri took place on September 2, 1945.

The ceremony was held on the battleship’s deck in Tokyo Bay. Japanese representatives signed the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, a document that formally ended hostilities between Japan and the Allied powers. The proceedings were brief and were broadcast internationally.

General Douglas MacArthur opened the ceremony and signed for the Allied powers. Japanese Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu signed first for the Japanese government, followed by General Yoshijirō Umezu for Imperial General Headquarters. Representatives of the United States, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, Australia, Canada, France, the Netherlands, and New Zealand then signed.

August 15 remains an important date because Hirohito announced Japan’s decision to surrender then. September 2 is the date associated with the legal and ceremonial completion of the surrender, and President Harry Truman designated it the official V-J Day in the United States.