Who signed Japan’s formal surrender for the Allied powers at the 1945 Tokyo Bay ceremony?

Douglas MacArthur signed Japan’s formal surrender for the Allied powers at the 1945 Tokyo Bay ceremony.

MacArthur served as Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers and accepted Japan’s surrender on behalf of the nations fighting Japan. He signed the instrument at 9:08 a.m. aboard USS Missouri, before the other Allied representatives added their signatures.

Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz then signed as the United States representative. Representatives of China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, Australia, Canada, France, the Netherlands, and New Zealand followed.

MacArthur’s role reflected his command position in the Pacific, not a claim that the United States alone had defeated Japan. The ceremony was an Allied event, and the surrender document listed multiple governments. MacArthur also delivered brief concluding remarks after the signatures were completed, officially closing the proceedings.