Which ship hosted the 1945 Japanese Instrument of Surrender ceremony?

The USS Missouri hosted the 1945 Japanese Instrument of Surrender ceremony. The American Iowa-class battleship was anchored in Tokyo Bay when Japanese and Allied representatives gathered on its deck on September 2, 1945.

Missouri had entered U.S. Navy service in 1944 and was one of the largest and most heavily armed battleships ever built by the United States. By the time of the surrender ceremony, it was serving as the flagship of Admiral William Halsey’s Third Fleet.

The ceremony’s location also carried historical symbolism. A flag associated with Commodore Matthew Perry’s 1853 expedition to Japan was displayed aboard the ship, linking the event to the earlier opening of Japan to American trade.

The ship later became a museum at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. It remains preserved near the USS Arizona Memorial, making it possible for visitors to see the deck where the surrender document was signed.