Who was the first Japanese official to sign the 1945 Instrument of Surrender?

Mamoru Shigemitsu was the first Japanese official to sign the 1945 Instrument of Surrender.

Shigemitsu was Japan's foreign minister and signed on behalf of the emperor and the Japanese government. He signed at about 9:04 a.m. aboard USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. General Yoshijiro Umezu, chief of the Army General Staff, signed afterward for Japan's Imperial General Headquarters.

Shigemitsu wore formal diplomatic attire and used a cane because he had lost a leg in an assassination attempt in 1932. His role reflected the legal and diplomatic character of the surrender, while Umezu represented Japan's military command.

The Japanese delegation contained eleven representatives, but only Shigemitsu and Umezu signed the instrument itself. Their signatures were followed by those of Allied representatives, beginning with General Douglas MacArthur. This order is a common source of confusion because MacArthur presided over the ceremony, but he was not the first person to sign.