Who was Japan’s foreign minister when he signed the 1945 surrender document?

Mamoru Shigemitsu was Japan’s foreign minister when he signed the 1945 surrender document.

Shigemitsu signed the Japanese Instrument of Surrender aboard USS Missouri on 2 September 1945. He signed “by command and in behalf of the Emperor of Japan and the Japanese Government,” representing Japan’s civilian government.

General Yoshijirō Umezu signed next for the Imperial Japanese General Headquarters. The presence of both men reflected Japan’s political and military authority: Shigemitsu represented the government, while Umezu represented the armed forces.

Shigemitsu had previously served as Japan’s foreign minister during the final phase of the war. After the surrender ceremony, he was later convicted of war crimes but was paroled in 1950 and returned to political life.