Who signed Japan’s Instrument of Surrender for the Japanese government in Tokyo Bay?

Mamoru Shigemitsu signed Japan’s Instrument of Surrender for the Japanese government in Tokyo Bay.

Shigemitsu was Japan’s foreign minister and signed the document aboard the USS Missouri on September 2, 1945. He signed first for Japan, followed by General Yoshijiro Umezu, who signed as chief of the Imperial General Staff and represented Japan’s armed forces.

The Instrument of Surrender formally accepted the terms of the Potsdam Declaration and brought the war’s hostilities to an official close. Allied representatives then signed for the United States, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, Australia, Canada, France, the Netherlands, and New Zealand.

A frequent mix-up is to name Umezu instead of Shigemitsu. Both Japanese representatives signed, but they represented different authorities. Emperor Hirohito authorized the surrender and announced its acceptance to the Japanese people; he did not attend the ceremony or sign the document.