On September 2, 1945, Japanese representatives signed the official Instrument
of Surrender, prepared by the War Department and approved by President Harry
S. Truman. It set out in eight short paragraphs the complete capitulation of
Japan. The opening words, "We, acting by command of and in behalf of the
Emperor of Japan," signified the importance attached to the Emperor's role
by the Americans who drafted the document. The short second paragraph went straight
to the heart of the matter: "We hereby proclaim the unconditional surrender
to the Allied Powers of the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters and of all
Japanese armed forces and all armed forces under Japanese control wherever situated."
That morning, on the deck of the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, the Japanese
envoys Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu and Gen. Yoshijiro Umezu signed their
names on the Instrument of Surrender. The time was recorded as 4 minutes past
9 o'clock. Afterward, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, Commander in the Southwest Pacific
and Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, also signed. He accepted the Japanese
surrender "for the United States, Republic of China, United Kingdom, and
the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and in the interests of the other United
Nations at war with Japan."
On September 6, Col. Bernard Thielen brought the surrender document and a second
imperial rescript back to Washington, DC. The following day, Thielen presented
the documents to President Truman in a formal White House ceremony. The documents
were then exhibited at the National Archives after a dignified ceremony led
by Gen. Jonathan Wainwright. Finally, on October 1, 1945, they were formally
received (accessioned) into the holdings of the National Archives.
For more information, visit the National Archives' Featured
Documents Online Exhibit.
