Who signed Japan’s Instrument of Surrender on behalf of the Allied powers?

Douglas MacArthur signed Japan’s Instrument of Surrender on behalf of the Allied powers.

MacArthur served as Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers and accepted Japan’s surrender aboard USS Missouri on September 2, 1945. He signed first for the Allies, after Mamoru Shigemitsu and Yoshijirō Umezu had signed for Japan.

MacArthur also opened the 23-minute ceremony with remarks expressing hope that the occasion would lead to a better world. After his signature, representatives of the United States, China, Britain, the Soviet Union, Australia, Canada, France, the Netherlands, and New Zealand signed for their governments.

Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz signed immediately after MacArthur as the U.S. representative. This sometimes causes confusion: MacArthur signed as the Allied supreme commander, while Nimitz represented the United States specifically. MacArthur then led the Allied occupation and reconstruction of Japan.