Which Japanese general signed the surrender second aboard USS Missouri in 1945?

Yoshijiro Umezu signed the surrender second aboard USS Missouri in 1945.

Umezu was chief of the Army General Staff and represented Japanese Imperial General Headquarters at the surrender ceremony. He signed the Instrument of Surrender shortly after Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu, who signed for the Japanese government.

The distinction between the two Japanese signatories mattered. Shigemitsu represented the civilian government, while Umezu represented the military headquarters that had directed Japan’s armed forces. Umezu signed at about 9:06 a.m. Japan Standard Time on September 2, 1945.

Umezu had opposed surrender during the final debates over ending the war, but he followed the emperor’s decision and signed the document. General Douglas MacArthur then signed for the Allied powers, followed by representatives of the United States and other Allied governments.