Which document formally recorded Japan’s capitulation at the end of World War II?

The Japanese Instrument of Surrender formally recorded Japan’s capitulation at the end of World War II. It was signed in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945.

The document stated that Japan accepted the provisions of the Potsdam Declaration and ordered Japanese forces to cease hostilities. It was signed by Japanese representatives and Allied delegates aboard the USS Missouri.

The Potsdam Declaration was different: issued on July 26, 1945, it set out the Allied terms and demanded Japan’s surrender. The instrument came later and documented Japan’s acceptance of those terms. The Cairo Declaration, issued in 1943, dealt with Allied aims concerning Japan’s territories and aggression.

The Treaty of San Francisco was later still. Signed in 1951 and effective in 1952, it ended the legal state of war with most of the Allies and restored Japan’s sovereignty. It did not replace the 1945 surrender document as the record of capitulation.