Which general signed Japan’s 1945 surrender instrument as Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers?

Douglas MacArthur signed Japan’s 1945 surrender instrument as Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers.

MacArthur accepted Japan’s surrender aboard USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945. He signed after the two Japanese representatives and before the individual Allied national representatives added their signatures.

MacArthur had commanded Allied forces in the Southwest Pacific Area and became Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers during the occupation of Japan. His role at the ceremony reflected the broad authority given to him to receive Japan’s capitulation and supervise the postwar occupation.

Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz signed immediately after MacArthur as the United States representative. Nimitz and MacArthur held different commands during the Pacific War, but both were central American leaders in the final victory over Japan. The ceremony’s sequence therefore distinguished MacArthur’s overall Allied role from Nimitz’s national representation for the United States.