Which Japanese army chief signed the surrender document for Japan’s armed forces?

Yoshijiro Umezu signed Japan’s surrender document for its armed forces.

Umezu was Chief of the Army General Staff when Japan surrendered. At the ceremony aboard USS Missouri on September 2, 1945, he signed the Instrument of Surrender after Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu had signed for the Japanese government. His signature represented the military institutions that had directed Japan’s wartime operations.

Umezu had opposed surrender during the final days of the war, but Emperor Hirohito’s decision and the government’s acceptance of the Allied terms settled the issue. The ceremony required both civilian and military representatives because the surrender applied to Japan’s government and its armed forces.

Unlike several other senior wartime leaders, Umezu was not executed after the Tokyo war-crimes trial. He was convicted of conspiring to wage aggressive war and received a life sentence. He died in prison in 1949. His role at the ceremony is sometimes overlooked because Shigemitsu’s formal diplomatic appearance receives more visual attention.