Who signed second for Japan at the 1945 ceremony aboard USS Missouri?
Answer
Yoshijirō Umezu
Yoshijirō Umezu signed second for Japan at the 1945 ceremony aboard USS Missouri.
Umezu was chief of the Army General Staff and signed the Instrument of Surrender on behalf of Japanese Imperial General Headquarters. Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu had signed first for the Emperor and the Japanese government.
The order reflected the two authorities that had to be represented: Japan’s civilian government and its military command. Umezu signed at approximately 9:06 a.m., two minutes after Shigemitsu.
Umezu had opposed surrender during the final days of the war, but ultimately followed the emperor’s decision. His signature was therefore a formal acknowledgment by Japan’s senior army leadership that its armed forces would comply with the surrender terms.