Who signed Japan’s formal surrender as its foreign minister in 1945?

Mamoru Shigemitsu signed Japan’s formal surrender as its foreign minister on 2 September 1945.

Shigemitsu signed the Japanese Instrument of Surrender on behalf of the Emperor of Japan and the Japanese government. He was Japan’s civilian representative at the ceremony aboard USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. General Yoshijiro Umezu then signed separately on behalf of Imperial Japanese General Headquarters.

The distinction between the two Japanese signatories matters. Shigemitsu represented the government, while Umezu represented the military command. Both signatures were required to show that Japan’s political and military authorities accepted the surrender terms.

Shigemitsu had previously served as Japan’s foreign minister and had been involved in wartime diplomacy. After the surrender ceremony, he was convicted at the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, served a prison sentence, and later returned to public office in postwar Japan.