President Harry S. Truman announced that Japan’s formal surrender ceremony was scheduled for September 2, 1945.
Truman made the announcement to the American public on August 14, 1945, after the Japanese government communicated its acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration. He explained that the formal signing would occur later, aboard a United States naval vessel in Tokyo Bay.
The announcement followed Emperor Hirohito’s decision to accept the Allied terms. Because of time-zone differences, the news was heard in the United States on August 14 while the Japanese public heard Hirohito’s recorded address on August 15. This is why different countries and sources associate V-J Day with different dates.
Truman had become president after Franklin D. Roosevelt died in April 1945. He oversaw the final months of the war, including the use of atomic bombs against Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the subsequent Japanese surrender.