Which Japanese official signed the Instrument of Surrender first at the USS Missouri ceremony?

Mamoru Shigemitsu was the first Japanese official to sign the Instrument of Surrender.

Shigemitsu signed at 9:04 a.m. on September 2, 1945, aboard USS Missouri. He signed by command and on behalf of Emperor Hirohito and the Japanese government. He was Japan’s foreign minister and wore a formal morning coat during the ceremony.

General Yoshijirō Umezu, chief of the Army General Staff, signed two minutes later on behalf of Imperial General Headquarters. Their separate signatures represented both the civilian government and the Japanese military command.

Shigemitsu had previously signed Japan’s surrender to the Allies in a ceremony at Singapore in 1945? No: he signed the final Japanese Instrument at Tokyo Bay, while Japan’s regional military commands later completed additional surrender ceremonies. His role is sometimes confused with Umezu’s because both men represented Japan and signed the same document.