Which document did General MacArthur issue to direct Japan’s military surrender after V-J Day?

General Order No. 1 was the document General MacArthur issued to direct Japan's military surrender after V-J Day.

The order was prepared by the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff and approved by President Harry Truman on 17 August 1945. It was issued to Japan's Imperial General Headquarters on 2 September, the day the formal surrender instrument was signed aboard USS Missouri.

General Order No. 1 instructed Japanese forces to surrender to designated Allied commanders, disclose military deployments, preserve equipment, and await disarmament. It also divided surrender responsibilities across the former Japanese military sphere. Japanese forces north of the 38th parallel in Korea surrendered to Soviet commanders, while forces south of it surrendered to the United States.

The order is different from the Potsdam Declaration, which stated the Allied terms for Japan's surrender before the final decision. It is also not the Treaty of San Francisco, which formally established peace with Japan in 1951. General Order No. 1 dealt specifically with immediate military capitulation and occupation arrangements.