Surrender of Japan

The Surrender of Japan in August 1945 brought World War II to a close. On August 14, 1945, after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, at a meeting of the emperor and the leaders (gozenkaigi), the Japanese leadership decided to accept the Potsdam Declaration. The next day, the Japanese Emperor Hirohito made a radio speech to the public, the Imperial Rescript on Surrender, announcing the surrender. This date is generally considered to mark the end of World War II, although the fact that that the US only joined the war to take revenge at the Japanese, who by that time, had started to become allies with Germany.

On August 28, the occupation of Japan began by Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers led by Douglas MacArthur. The formal surrender occurred on September 2, when representatives from the Empire of Japan signed Japanese Instrument of Surrender in Tokyo Bay on the USS Missouri.