Who signed first for the Allied powers at the Japanese surrender ceremony?

Douglas MacArthur signed first for the Allied powers at the Japanese surrender ceremony.

MacArthur served as Supreme Allied Commander and presided over the ceremony aboard USS Missouri on September 2, 1945. After the two Japanese representatives signed, he signed the instrument on behalf of the Allied powers. Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz then signed as the United States representative.

Representatives from China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, Australia, Canada, France, the Netherlands, and New Zealand followed. Their signatures showed that the surrender was accepted by the coalition that had fought Japan across the Asia-Pacific region.

MacArthur also delivered brief opening and closing remarks. He declared that the proceedings should be conducted with “sincerity and dignity,” but the ceremony itself was deliberately short. The formal signing ended at about 9:25 a.m. Tokyo time, after which Japan entered the Allied occupation period.