The Document That Officially Ended World War II Was Surprisingly Simple

On September 2, 1945, a signing ceremony was held on the USS Missouri, just off the coast of Tokyo, Japan, to declare the official end of World War II. The representatives of Japan signed the Instrument of Surrender while delegates from several Allied nations acted as witnesses. The devastating war, with its significant losses, was finally over.

For such a drawn-out war, the Instrument of Surrender document was comparatively short, listing only eight paragraphs discussing the terms of surrender. Those eight paragraphs were also short and sweet, as if both Allied and Axis powers were just ready to be done with it all. Unfortunately, the consequences of the war would last much longer.

The End of the War

Germany had already surrendered in May of 1945, ending the war in Europe, but Japan had stubbornly held on. The Allies met at the Potsdam Conference to discuss what would be done with Germany and what to do to end the war in the Pacific. After Japan refused the ultimatum given by the Allied Powers at the conference, the US used the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945.

The decimation of two Japanese cities caused by the atomic bombs was the final blow, and Japan surrendered on August 15, now known as VJ Day. But the official surrender ceremony did not take place until September 2, when Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu and General Yoshijiro Umezu met with US General Douglas MacArthur to sign the Instrument of Surrender.

Japanese Instrument of Surrender, 1945

The Instrument of Surrender was pretty basic in scope, stating that Japan would cease all military action and unconditionally surrender. They were also to release all prisoners of war they had taken, agree to all terms created by the Potsdam Conference, and submit to the authority of General MacArthur, who was acting as the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers.

One of the reasons the document was so short was that the Allied Forces had already covered terms of surrender in detail during the Potsdam Conference. And since the Emperor of Japan, Hirohito, had already broadcast the surrender announcement to his country, the signing of the document was little more than bureaucracy.

The Consequences of War and Surrender

Though the Instrument of Surrender was simple and short, the consequences of the document lasted for generations. With General MacArthur as the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers, the US occupied Japan. The tensions of the occupation contributed to the start of the Cold War, as Russia was not thrilled to have the US in control of the island nation just east of it.

In his statement to his people before the signing of the Instrument of Surrender, Emperor Hirohito said that they would have to "bear the unbearable." Submitting authority to the US while still dealing with the aftermath of the atomic bombs left many Japanese citizens with major resentment. Yet, the Japanese representatives, Mamoru Shigemitsu and Yoshijiro Umezu, stood tall and dignified even as they signed away their country's power.

It would be decades before Japan regained a balance of power. Who knew that such a short document could bring about such long-lasting effects?

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