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Japanese Instrument of Surrender

The Japanese Instrument of Surrender is a written agreement that was signed on the deck of USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945. It formalized the surrender of Japan and marked the end of hostilities in World War II. The agreement was signed on behalf of Emperor Hirohito by Japanese foreign minister Mamoru Shigemitsu, and on behalf of the Japanese armed forces by General Yoshijirō Umezu, Chief of the Army General Staff. It was then signed by representatives from the Allied nations: the United States, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, Australia, Canada, France, the Netherlands, and New Zealand. This image shows the Allied copy of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, which is now housed in the United States National Archives Building in Washington, D.C.

Document credit: United States Department of War; scanned by the National Archives and Records Administration, restored by Lise Broer

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