Which US battleship hosted Japan’s 1945 surrender ceremony in Tokyo Bay?

USS Missouri hosted Japan’s 1945 surrender ceremony in Tokyo Bay.

The ceremony took place on the battleship’s deck on September 2, 1945. Japanese representatives signed the Instrument of Surrender there, followed by Allied representatives led by General Douglas MacArthur. The location was chosen partly because Missouri represented American naval power and could accommodate the Japanese and Allied delegations.

USS Missouri was an Iowa-class battleship commissioned by the United States Navy in June 1944. President Harry S. Truman’s home state was Missouri, giving the ship additional symbolic significance for the American public. The ship’s deck became one of the most recognizable settings associated with the end of World War II.

The battleship was later preserved as a museum ship at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. It is displayed near the USS Arizona Memorial, linking the beginning and end of the United States’ Pacific War experience.