Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz was the first Allied representative to sign Japan’s Instrument of Surrender after Douglas MacArthur.
MacArthur signed first as Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers. Nimitz then signed for the United States at approximately 9:12 a.m. on 2 September 1945 aboard USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.
Nimitz had commanded the U.S. Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas during the war. His signature represented the United States, while later signatures represented China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, Australia, Canada, France, the Netherlands, and New Zealand.
Nimitz was not the official who accepted Japan’s surrender on behalf of all the Allies. That role belonged to MacArthur. Nimitz followed MacArthur as the first national representative to sign, an important distinction in the ceremony’s order.