Who signed Japan’s surrender instrument on behalf of Emperor Hirohito?
Answer
Mamoru Shigemitsu
Mamoru Shigemitsu signed Japan’s surrender instrument on behalf of Emperor Hirohito.
Shigemitsu was Japan’s foreign minister when the surrender ceremony took place on September 2, 1945. Wearing formal diplomatic attire and using a cane because of a wartime injury, he signed first for Japan on the deck of USS Missouri.
Shigemitsu’s signature represented the emperor and the Japanese government, but he was not the only Japanese signatory. General Yoshijirō Umezu signed separately for Japan’s armed forces. This distinction helps prevent confusion between the civilian diplomatic representative and the military representative at the ceremony.