Japanese Instrument of Surrender - wikipedia Japanese Instrument of Surrender Representatives of the Empire of Japan stand aboard USS Missouri prior to signing of the Instrument of Surrender. The Japanese Instrument of Surrender was the written agreement that formalized the surrender of the Empire of Japan, marking the end of World War II. It was signed by representatives from the Empire of Japan, the United States of America, the Republic of China, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the Commonwealth of Australia, the Dominion of Canada, the Provisional Government of the French Republic, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and the Dominion of New Zealand. The signing took place on the deck of USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945. The date is sometimes known as Victory over Japan Day, although that designation more frequently refers to the date of Emperor Hirohito 's Gyokuon - hōsō ( Imperial Rescript of Surrender ), the radio broadcast announcement of the acceptance of the terms of the Potsdam Declaration at noon Japan Standard Time on August 15. Contents 1 Surrender ceremony 2 Flags at the ceremony 3 Differences between versions 4 Current locations 5 Gallery 6 See also 7 Notes 8 References 9 External links Surrender ceremony Japanese Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu signing the Instrument of Surrender on behalf of the Japanese Government, formally ending World War II General of the Army Douglas MacArthur signing the Instrument of Surrender on behalf of the Allied Powers The ceremony aboard the deck of the Missouri lasted 23 minutes and was broadcast throughout the world. The instrument was first signed by the Japanese foreign minister Mamoru Shigemitsu `` By Command and on behalf of the Emperor of Japan and the Japanese Government '' ( 9 : 04 am ). General Yoshijirō Umezu, Chief of the Army General Staff, then signed the document `` By Command and on behalf of the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters '' ( 9 : 06 am ). The Japanese representatives present for the signing were the following : Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu General Yoshijirō Umezu, Chief of the Army General Staff Major General Yatsuji Nagai Katsuo Okazaki ( Foreign Ministry ) Rear Admiral Tadatoshi Tomioka Toshikazu Kase ( Foreign Ministry ) Lt. General Suichi Miyakazi Rear Admiral Ichiro Yokoyama Saburo Ota ( Foreign Ministry ) Captain Katsuo Shiba ( Navy ) Colonel Kaziyi Sugita At 9 : 08 a.m., U.S. General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, the Commander in the Southwest Pacific and Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, accepted the surrender on behalf of the Allied Powers and signed in his capacity as Supreme Commander. After MacArthur 's signature as Supreme Commander, the following representatives signed the instrument of surrender on behalf of each of the Allied Powers : Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz for the United States ( 9 : 12 a.m. ) General Hsu Yung - chang for China ( 9 : 13 a.m. ) Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser for the United Kingdom ( 9 : 14 a.m. ) Lieutenant General Kuzma Derevyanko for the Soviet Union ( 9 : 16 a.m. ) General Sir Thomas Blamey for Australia ( 9 : 17 a.m. ) Colonel Lawrence Moore Cosgrave for Canada ( 9 : 18 a.m. ) Général de Corps d'Armée Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque for France ( 9 : 20 a.m. ) Lieutenant Admiral C.E.L. Helfrich for the Netherlands ( 9 : 21 a.m. ) Air Vice-Marshal Leonard M. Isitt for New Zealand ( 9 : 22 a.m. ) The UK invited Dominion governments to send representatives to the ceremony as subordinates to its own. MacArthur supported the government of Australia 's demand to attend and sign separately from the UK, although Australia objected to his recommendation that Canada, the Netherlands, and France also sign the document. On September 6, Colonel Bernard Theilen took the document and an imperial rescript to Washington, D.C., and presented them to President Harry S. Truman in a formal White House ceremony the following day. The documents were then exhibited at the National Archives. Flags at the ceremony Commodore Perry 's flag was flown from Annapolis, Maryland to Tokyo for display at the surrender ceremonies which officially ended World War II. The deck of the Missouri was furnished with two American flags. A commonly heard story is that one of the flags had flown over the White House on the day Pearl Harbor was attacked. However, Captain Stuart Murray of USS Missouri explained : At eight o'clock we had hoisted a clean set of colors at the mainmast and a clean Union Jack ( of the United States ) at the bow as we were at anchor, and I would like to add that these were just regular ship 's flags, GI issue, that we 'd pulled out of the spares, nothing special about them, and they had never been used anywhere so far as we know, at least they were clean and we had probably gotten them in Guam in May. So there was nothing special about them. Some of the articles in the history say this was the same flag that was flown on the White House or the National Capitol on 7 December 1941, the attack on Pearl Harbor, and at Casablanca, and so forth, also MacArthur took it up to Tokyo and flew it over his headquarters there. The only thing I can say is they were hard up for baloney, because it was nothing like that. It was just a plain ordinary GI - issue flag and a Union Jack. We turned them both into the Naval Academy Museum when we got back to the East Coast in October. The only special flag that was there was a flag which Commodore Perry had flown on his ship out in that same location 82 years before ( sic : the actual number of years was 92 ). It was flown out in its glass case from the Naval Academy Museum. An officer messenger brought it out. We put this hanging over the door of my cabin, facing forward, on the surrender deck so that everyone on the surrender deck could see it. That special flag on the veranda deck of the Missouri had been flown from Commodore Matthew Perry 's flagship in 1853 -- 54 when he led the U.S. Navy 's Far East Squadron into Tokyo Bay to force the opening of Japan 's ports to foreign trade. MacArthur was a direct descendant of the New England Perry family and cousin of Commodore Matthew Perry. Photographs of the signing ceremony show that this flag is displayed backward -- reverse side showing ( stars in the upper right corner ). This was because American flags on the right of an object plane, ship, or person have the stars on the upper right corner, to look like the flag is heading into battle -- as if attached to a pole and someone is carrying it. Stars in the upper left of a flag displayed on the right side of the object would make the flag look like it was going away from battle. The cloth of the historic flag was so fragile that the conservator at the U.S. Naval Academy Museum directed that a protective backing be sewn on it, leaving its `` wrong side '' visible ; and this was how Perry 's 31 - star flag was presented on this unique occasion. A replica of this historic flag can be seen today on the Surrender Deck of the Battleship Missouri Memorial in Pearl Harbor. This replica is also placed in the same location on the bulkhead of the veranda deck where it had been initially mounted on the morning of September 2, 1945, by Chief Carpenter Fred Miletich. The original flag is still on display at the Naval Academy Museum, as is the table and tablecloth upon which the instrument of surrender was signed, and the original bronze plaque marking the location of the signing ( which was replaced by two replicas in 1990 ). Differences between versions The Japanese ( left ) and Allied ( right ) copies of the Instrument of Surrender The Japanese copy of the treaty varied from the Allied in the following ways : The Allied copy was presented in leather and gold lining with both countries ' seals printed on the front, whereas the Japanese copy was bound in rough canvas with no seals on the front. The Canadian representative, Colonel Lawrence Moore Cosgrave, signed below his line instead of above it on the Japanese copy, so everyone after him had to sign one line below the intended one. This was attributed to Col. Cosgrave being blind in one eye from a World War I injury. When the discrepancy was pointed out to General Sutherland, he crossed out the pre-printed name titles of the Allied nations and rewrote by hand the titles in their correct relative positions. The Japanese initially found this alteration unacceptable -- until Sutherland initialed ( as an abbreviated signature ) each alteration. The Japanese representatives did not complain further. Current locations This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( August 2017 ) The Allied copy of the Instrument is at the United States National Archives Building in Washington, D.C.. A replica of the Japanese version can be viewed at the Edo - Tokyo Museum in Tokyo. As witnesses, American general Jonathan Wainwright, who had surrendered the Philippines, and British lieutenant - general Arthur Percival, who had surrendered Singapore, received two of the six pens used by General MacArthur to sign the instrument. Another pen went to the West Point military academy, and one to MacArthur 's aide. All of the pens used by MacArthur were black, except the last, which was plum - colored and went to his wife. A replica of it, along with copies of the instrument of surrender, is in a case on Missouri by the plaque marking the signing spot. The model of the USS Missouri in the National Museum of the United States Navy at the Washington Navy Yard, has a scale replica of the signing table in the correct location. Gallery Ships of U.S. Third Fleet and British Pacific Fleet in Sagami Wan, 28 August 1945, preparing for the formal Japanese surrender. Nearest ship is USS Missouri. HMS Duke of York is just beyond, with HMS King George V further in. USS Colorado is in far center distance. Mount Fujiyama is in the background. Lieutenant General Richard K. Sutherland, aboard USS Missouri, corrects a signatory error in the Japanese Instrument of Surrender. US Colonel Sidney Mashbir and Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuo Okazaki look on. Plaque over the door to the Captain 's Cabin on board the Missouri marking the signing Plaque in the deck of the Missouri marking the location of the signing Huge formation of American planes over USS Missouri and Tokyo Bay celebrating the signing, September 2, 1945 Photo taken from an airplane flying over USS Missouri See also Cairo Declaration ( 1943 ) General Order No. 1 ( Aug. 1945 ) Retrocession Day ( Oct. 1945 ) List of Allied ships at the Japanese surrender Post-war : Occupation of Japan Japanese holdouts Treaty of San Francisco ( 1951 ) Treaty of Taipei ( 1952 ) Soviet -- Japanese Joint Declaration of 1956 Other Axis : German Instrument of Surrender ( 1945 ) Armistice of Cassibile Treaty of Peace with Italy, 1947 Notes Jump up ^ Not to be confused with the People 's Republic of China which did not then exist. Jump up ^ The Soviet Union had only declared war on Japan a month earlier, after the Hiroshima bombing. References ^ Jump up to : Broom, Jack ( May 21, 1998 ). `` Memories on Board Battleship ''. Seattle Times. Jump up ^ photo at AWM of Umezu signing. Archived 2008 - 10 - 05 at the Wayback Machine. ^ Jump up to : `` USS Missouri BB - 63 ; Japanese Surrender Sept. 2, 1945 ; Page 3 : The Japanese delegation aboard the USS Missouri BB - 63 ( second photo on this webpage ) ''. MaritimeQuest.com. Jump up ^ Prepared by the War Department. Approved by President Truman ( 1945 ). Japanese Instrument of Surrender ( scan ). Jump up ^ photo at AWM, Nimitz signing. Archived 2012 - 09 - 08 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ AWM photo, Hsu Yung - chang signing. Archived 2012 - 09 - 08 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ photo at AWM, Fisher signing. Archived 2012 - 09 - 08 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ AWM photo 040968, Derevyanko signing. Archived 2012 - 09 - 30 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ AWM photo, Blamey about to sign. Archived 2012 - 09 - 08 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ AWM photo, Cosgrave signing. Archived 2012 - 09 - 08 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ AWM photo, Leclerc signing. Archived 2012 - 08 - 13 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ AWM photo, Helfrich signing. Archived 2012 - 09 - 08 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ AWM photo, Isitt signing. Archived 2012 - 09 - 08 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ Wood, James. `` The Australian Military Contribution to the Occupation of Japan, 1945 -- 1952 '' ( PDF ). Australian War Museum. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 2009 - 11 - 04. Retrieved August 12, 2012. Jump up ^ Murray, Stuart. `` Reminiscences of the Surrender of Japan and the End of World War II ''. USS Missouri Memorial Association. Retrieved 7 February 2018. ^ Jump up to : Tsutsumi, Cheryl Chee ( August 26, 2007 ). `` Hawaii 's Back Yard : Mighty Mo memorial re-creates a powerful history ''. Star - Bulletin. Honolulu. Jump up ^ Ellwand, Geoff ( 27 April 2006 ). `` Making a mess of history ''. CBC News. Archived from the original on 19 October 2012., ``... Peace Be Now Restored ''. Time. 10 September 1945. External links Wikisource has original text related to this article : Japanese Instrument of Surrender Wikimedia Commons has media related to Surrender of Japan, 2 September 1945. National Archives & Records Administration Featured Document USS Missouri 's Captain Stuart Murray interviewed about the surrender ceremony Alsos Digital Library bibliography of references on Japan 's surrender Instrument of Surrender ( full text ) MaritimeQuest Japanese Surrender Pages Procedure for Assembling on Veranda Deck Admiral Halsey 's Flag Coordinates : 35 ° 21 ′ 17 '' N 139 ° 45 ′ 36 '' E ﻿ / ﻿ 35.35472 ° N 139.76000 ° E ﻿ / 35.35472 ; 139.76000 hide Treaties of Japan Bakumatsu period ( 1854 -- 68 ) Japan - US Treaty of Peace and Amity ( 1854 ) Anglo - Japanese Friendship Treaty ( 1854 ) Treaty of Commerce and Navigation between Japan and Russia ( 1855 ) Dutch - Japan Treaty of Peace and Amity ( 1856 ) ( ja ) Japan - US Additional Treaty ( 1857 ) Japan - Netherlands Additional Treaty ( 1857 ) ( ja ) Japan - Russia Additional Treaty ( 1857 ) Treaty of Amity and Commerce ( United States -- Japan ) ( 1858 ) Treaty of Amity and Commerce between the Netherlands and Japan ( 1858 ) ( ja ) Treaty of Amity and Commerce between Russia and Japan ( 1858 ) Anglo - Japanese Treaty of Amity and Commerce ( 1858 ) Treaty of Amity and Commerce between France and Japan ( 1858 ) Treaty of Amity and Commerce between Portugal and Japan ( 1860 ) Treaty of Amity and Commerce between Prussia and Japan ( 1861 ) London Protocol ( 1862 ) Agreement of Paris ( 1864 ) ( ja ) Treaty of Amity and Commerce between Belgium and Japan ( 1866 ) Treaty of Amity and Commerce between Italy and Japan ( 1866 ) Meiji period ( 1868 -- 1912 ) Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation between Spain and Japan ( 1868 ) Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation Austria - Hungary and Japan ( 1869 ) Sino - Japanese Friendship and Trade Treaty ( 1871 ) Treaty of Amity and Commerce between Hawaii and Japan ( 1871 ) Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation between Peru and Japan ( 1873 ) Engagement between Japan and China respecting Formosa of 1874 Treaty of Saint Petersburg ( 1875 ) Japan -- Korea Treaty of 1876 Japan -- Korea Treaty of 1882 Japan - Hawaii Labor Immigration Treaty ( 1884 ) Japan -- Korea Treaty of 1885 Convention of Tientsin ( 1885 ) Declaration of Amity and Commerce between Thailand and Japan ( 1887 ) Treaty of Friendship and Commerce between Mexico and Japan ( 1888 ) Anglo - Japanese Treaty of Commerce and Navigation ( 1894 ) Treaty of Commerce and Navigation between Japan and the USA ( 1894 ) Italo -- Japanese Treaty of Commerce and Navigation ( 1894 ) Japan - China Peace Treaty ( 1895 ) Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation between Brazil and Japan ( 1895 ) Treaty for returning Fengtian Peninsula ( 1895 ) ( ja ) German -- Japanese Treaty of Commerce and Navigation ( 1896 ) Komura - Weber Memorandum ( 1896 ) Yamagata -- Lobanov Agreement ( 1896 ) Japan -- China Treaty of Commerce and Navigation ( 1896 ) ( ja ) Franco -- Japanese Treaty of Commerce and Navigation ( 1896 ) Japan -- Netherlands Treaty of Commerce and Navigation ( 1896 ) Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation between Chile and Japan ( 1897 ) Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation between Argentina and Japan ( 1898 ) Nishi -- Rosen Agreement ( 1898 ) Japan - Thailand Friendship, Commerce and Navigation Treaty ( 1898 ) Boxer Protocol ( 1901 ) Anglo - Japanese Alliance ( 1902 ) Japan - China Additional Treaty of Commerce and Navigation ( 1903 ) ( ja ) Japan -- Korea Treaty of 1904 Japan -- Korea Agreement of August 1904 Japan - Russia Treaty of Peace ( 1905 ) Taft -- Katsura agreement ( 1905 ) Japan -- Korea Treaty of 1905 Additional Agreement of the Japan - China Treaty relating to Manchuria ( 1905 ) ( ja ) Franco - Japanese Treaty of 1907 Japan -- Korea Treaty of 1907 Russo - Japanese Agreement of 1907 Gentlemen 's Agreement of 1907 Root -- Takahira Agreement ( 1908 ) Japan - China Agreement relating to Manchuria and Jiandao ( 1909 ) ( ja ) Russo - Japanese Agreement of 1910 Japan -- Korea Treaty of 1910 Treaty of Commerce and Navigation between Japan and the USA ( 1911 ) Anglo - Japanese Treaty of Commerce and Navigation ( 1911 ) North Pacific Fur Seal Convention of 1911 Russo - Japanese Agreement of 1912 World War I -- II ( 1912 -- 45 ) Japan - China Treaty of 1915 Russo - Japanese Agreement of 1916 Lansing -- Ishii Agreement ( 1917 ) Japan - China Co-defense Military Pact ( 1918 ) ( ja ) Treaty of Versailles ( 1919 ) Covenant of the League of Nations ( 1919 ) Treaty of Saint - Germain - en - Laye ( 1919 ) Treaty of Neuilly - sur - Seine ( 1919 ) Svalbard Treaty ( 1920 ) Gongota Agreement of 1920 Treaty of Sèvres ( 1920 ) Treaty of Trianon ( 1921 ) Four - Power Treaty ( 1921 ) Nine - Power Treaty ( 1922 ) Treaty concerning solution of Shandong issues ( 1922 ) ( ja ) Washington Naval Treaty ( 1922 ) Treaty of Lausanne ( 1923 ) Klaipėda Convention ( 1924 ) Soviet -- Japanese Basic Convention ( 1925 ) German -- Japanese Treaty of Commerce and Navigation ( 1927 ) Kellogg -- Briand Pact ( 1928 ) Japan - China Customs Agreement ( 1930 ) London Naval Treaty ( 1930 ) Cease Fire Agreement in Shanghai ( 1932 ) ( ja ) Japan - Manchukuo Protocol ( 1932 ) Tanggu Truce ( 1933 ) India - Japan Agreement of 1934 Japan - Manchukuo - Soviet Protocol for Cession of North Manchuria Railway ( 1935 ) ( ja ) He -- Umezu Agreement ( 1935 ) Chin - Doihara Agreement ( 1935 ) Canada - Japan New Trade Agreement ( 1935 ) Japan - Netherlands Shipping Agreement ( 1936 ) Anti-Comintern Pact ( 1936 ) Hart - Ishizawa Agreement ( 1937 ) India - Japan Agreement of 1937 Van Mook - Kotani Agreement ( 1938 ) Tripartite Pact ( 1940 ) Japan - China Basic Relations Treaty ( 1940 ) Japan - Manchukuo - China Joint Declaration ( 1940 ) ( ja ) Soviet -- Japanese Neutrality Pact ( 1941 ) Japan - Thailand Attack / Defence Alliance Treaty ( 1941 ) ( ja ) Japanese Instrument of Surrender ( 1945 ) During Cold War ( 1945 -- 89 ) Security Treaty between the United States and Japan ( 1951 ) Treaty of San Francisco ( 1951 ) Sino - Japanese Peace Treaty ( 1952 ) Treaty of Peace between Japan and India ( 1952 ) Treaty of Peace between Japan and Burma ( 1954 ) Japan -- Philippines Reparations Agreement ( 1956 ) Soviet -- Japanese Joint Declaration of 1956 Treaty of Peace between Japan and Indonesia ( 1958 ) Japan -- South Vietnam Reparations Agreement ( 1959 ) Japan -- US Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security ( 1960 ) Tokyo Convention ( 1963 ) Japan -- South Korea Treaty ( 1965 ) Ogasawara Reversion Agreement ( 1968 ) Okinawa Reversion Agreement ( 1971 ) Japan -- China Joint Communiqué ( 1972 ) Japan -- North Vietnam Agreement ( 1973 ) Japan -- China Trade Agreement ( 1974 ) Basic Treaty between Japan and Australia ( 1976 ) Sino -- Japanese Peace and Friendship Treaty ( 1978 ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Japanese_Instrument_of_Surrender&oldid=841331256 '' Categories : 1945 in Japan 1945 documents Aftermath of World War II in Japan Australia -- Japan relations Canada -- Japan relations China -- Japan relations France -- Japan relations Japan in World War II Japan -- Netherlands relations Japan -- New Zealand relations Japan -- Soviet Union relations Japan -- United Kingdom military relations Japan -- United States military relations Occupied Japan September 1945 events Surrender of Japan Surrenders World War II documents Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links All articles with specifically marked weasel - 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Question: where did japan sign the articles of surrender
Answer: on the deck of USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay