Who signed Japan's Instrument of Surrender for Imperial General Headquarters in 1945?

General Yoshijirō Umezu signed Japan's Instrument of Surrender for Imperial General Headquarters in 1945.

Umezu was Chief of the Army General Staff and the senior uniformed Japanese representative at the ceremony aboard USS Missouri. He signed after Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu, whose signature represented the emperor and the Japanese government. Umezu's signature represented Japan's military command.

The distinction mattered because Japan's surrender required acceptance by both civilian authorities and the armed forces. Umezu had personally opposed surrender during the final debates, but he ultimately obeyed Emperor Hirohito's order and signed the document.

Umezu is sometimes confused with War Minister Korechika Anami, who opposed surrender and died by suicide on August 15, 1945. Anami did not attend the Missouri ceremony. Umezu remained in Allied custody after the war and was convicted of war crimes by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East.