Who signed Japan’s surrender document first during the 1945 ceremony?

Mamoru Shigemitsu signed Japan’s surrender document first during the 1945 ceremony.

Shigemitsu was Japan’s foreign minister and signed at about 9:04 a.m. Japan Standard Time aboard USS Missouri. He signed on behalf of the emperor and the Japanese government, making him the first Japanese representative to place his name on the Instrument of Surrender.

General Yoshijirō Umezu signed second, representing Imperial General Headquarters and Japan’s armed forces. The distinction mattered because the document represented both the civilian government and the military command structure.

The ceremony took place on September 2, 1945, in Tokyo Bay. General Douglas MacArthur accepted the surrender for the Allied powers several minutes later. The entire public ceremony lasted roughly 23 minutes and was broadcast internationally.