Who signed Japan’s Instrument of Surrender on behalf of the Japanese government?

Mamoru Shigemitsu signed Japan’s Instrument of Surrender on behalf of the Japanese government. He was Japan’s foreign minister and made the first Japanese signature during the ceremony aboard USS Missouri.

Shigemitsu signed the document using wording that identified him as acting by command and on behalf of the emperor and the Japanese government. General Yoshijirō Umezu then signed separately for Japan’s Imperial General Headquarters, representing the armed forces.

Shigemitsu had previously served as a diplomat and had signed Japan’s surrender to the Allies in Tokyo Bay despite having a prosthetic leg from an earlier attack. After the war, he was convicted of war crimes, served a prison sentence, and later returned to public life as foreign minister. His role is distinct from Umezu’s military signature.