Six years of global warfare, millions of lives lost and entire cities reduced to rubble — all came to an end in a single, 23-minute ceremony.
The signing aboard the Missouri marked the formal end of the war, but Japan announced its surrender nearly three weeks earlier. Japan continued fighting in the Pacific. At the Potsdam Conference in July, the Allied powers demanded Japan’s unconditional surrender. The emperor acknowledged the unbearable circumstances faced by the country. Japanese Foreign Ministry representatives noticed that the signatures no longer lined up with the countries they represented. What followed was a brief commotion around the surrender table. The incorrect signature was crossed out and corrected.
Germany surrendered in May 1945, bringing the war in Europe to an end. On August 15, Emperor Hirohito announced Japan’s surrender in a radio address to his people.
Tokyo rejected the ultimatum, according to the US Navy’s historical account.
Shigemitsu signed first on behalf of the Japanese government. Umezu then signed for the Japanese armed forces. A small Japanese delegation stepped aboard the Missouri. Foreign minister Mamoru Shigemitsu represented the Japanese government. General Yoshijiro Umezu represented the Japanese armed forces. MacArthur began with a brief speech. He spoke of justice, tolerance and the hope that peace would emerge from the devastation of war. Then came the signatures. He remained president through major Allied campaigns in Europe and the Pacific.
Franklin D Roosevelt was president when the US entered World War II after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. Roosevelt died on April 12, 1945, and Harry S Truman was sworn in as president that same day.
The ceremony, he said, was the beginning of a new era.
