Japanese 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 hostilities in World War II. It was signed by representatives from the Empire of Japan and from the Allied nations: the United States of America, the Republic of China,[note 1] 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 2 September 1945.
The capitulation of the state of Japan to the conditions provided by the Allies
The date is sometimes known as Victory over Japan Day. However, 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 15 August.
Preparation[edit]
General Douglas MacArthur's staff, headed by Colonel LeGrande A. Diller, were tasked to prepare the draft of the Instrument of Surrender. This was a challenge given resources were limited in war-torn Manila. Nevertheless, an enterprising staff member found rare parchment in a basement of a monastery, and this was given to MacArthur's printer.[1]
The ceremony aboard the deck of Missouri lasted 23 minutes and was broadcast throughout the world. It occurred at 35°21′17″N 139°45′36″E / 35.3547°N 139.76°E in Tokyo Bay. 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 a.m.).[2] 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 a.m.).[2][3]
The Japanese representatives present for the signing were the following:
At 9:08 a.m., American 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.[5]
After MacArthur, the following representatives signed the instrument of surrender on behalf of each of the Allied Powers:
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.[15]
On 6 September, 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.[16]
The Japanese copy of the treaty varied from the Allied in the following ways:
Current locations[edit]
The Allied copy of the Instrument is at the United States National Archives Building in Washington, D.C.[20] The Japanese copy is at the Diplomatic Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan in Tokyo, and was last publicly displayed in 2015, as part of an exhibition marking the 70th anniversary of the signing. A replica version of the Japanese copy can be viewed at the archive's gallery, and at the Edo-Tokyo Museum in Tokyo.[21]
Gen. MacArthur originally had 11 full-sized facsimiles made of the Instrument of Surrender, but later increased this for distribution among the Allied nations present during the signing. Two of the copies which were given to Col. LeGrande A. Diller and MGen. Basilio Valdes for the Philippines are now displayed at The International Museum of World War II in Natick, Massachusetts.[22]
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 bright red and went to his wife.[23] 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 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.
The National History Museum of the Republic of China has a reprint, and the Instrument of Surrender (along with seven other historic documents) was designated as a "National Treasure" by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of China in 2016.[24][25][26]
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 Fuji 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, 2 September 1945
