Mamoru Shigemitsu signed the surrender instrument first on behalf of the emperor and Japanese government.
Shigemitsu was Japan's foreign minister and headed the Japanese delegation aboard USS Missouri on September 2, 1945. He signed at about 9:04 a.m. Japan Standard Time using wording that stated he acted by command and on behalf of the emperor and government.
General Yoshijiro Umezu, chief of the Army General Staff, signed next for Imperial General Headquarters. Other Japanese representatives, including officials from the army, navy, and foreign ministry, also signed or witnessed the document.
Shigemitsu had previously served as a diplomat and had signed Japan's surrender to the Allies in a highly public ceremony. He was later convicted at the International Military Tribunal for the Far East and subsequently returned to government service in postwar Japan.