Those exercises ended abruptly on 15 August when Japan capitulated. "Whiteside" returned to Subic Bay on 16 August and remained there until the 20th when she moved to Batangas on Luzon to load elements of the 1st Cavalry Division for occupation duty in Japan. On 24 August, she departed Batangas in company with Task Force (TF) 33, the Tokyo occupation force. After a 48-hour stopover in Subic Bay, occasioned by a typhoon, she arrived at Yokohama, Japan, on 2 September, the day of the formal surrender ceremonies conducted on board in Tokyo Bay. Over the next two days, she unloaded her embarked troops and their attendant cargo and, on the 4th, shaped a course for Leyte.