Which U.S. president announced that Japan had accepted the Allied surrender terms?

Harry S. Truman announced that Japan had accepted the Allied surrender terms. Truman was the U.S. president when Japan agreed to surrender in August 1945, and he addressed the American public after the Japanese government’s decision became known.

Truman had become president on April 12, 1945, after Franklin D. Roosevelt died. During the final months of the Pacific War, his administration issued statements about the atomic bombings, the Potsdam Declaration, and Japan’s surrender. His announcement helped establish the American date for V-J Day as August 14, because the news reached the United States on August 14 evening in Washington time.

Truman’s announcement did not replace the formal surrender document. Japanese representatives signed the Japanese Instrument of Surrender on September 2, 1945, aboard USS Missouri. Truman later designated September 2 as V-J Day for the official end of hostilities, although everyday observances use different dates in different countries.