On September 2, 1945, Japan formally surrendered to the United States aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, Japan to end World War II.

The United States dropped two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki Japan in early August 1945 that devastated the cities and surrounding areas – and proved that the U.S. had nuclear weapons of unconventional mass destruction. The Soviet Union also declared war on Japan at that same time. The Japanese would have likely continued to fight but for the atomic bombs. As such, they had no choice but to surrender and end the war.

On this day, September 2, 1945, Japanese leaders boarded the U.S. battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay to sign their surrender. Over fifty Allied generals and numerous other officials and soldiers were in attendance as the Supreme Allied Commander, General Douglas McArthur, read his speech to open the surrender ceremonies on behalf of the Allied forces. McArthur said the atomic bombs that dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki "revised the traditional concept of war,” and the world required a more just system of war or a nuclear holocaust would eventually occur.

After the opening ceremonial remarks, the Japanese representatives were the first to sign the official Instrument of Surrender, followed by representatives from the United States, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, Australia, Canada, France, the Netherland, and New Zealand.

The surrender ceremony lasted less than a half-an-hour and within half-an-hour of the signing over 40 U.S. ships entered Tokyo Bay with around 13,000 American troops.

The Instrument of Surrender set out eight brief paragraphs, opened with these words, "We, acting by command of and in behalf of the Emperor of Japan," and stated in the second paragraph the substance of the document, "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."

The Instrument of Surrender was transported to Washington D.C. and presented to President Harry Truman in a formal White House ceremony on September 7. It was them placed on exhibit at the U.S. National Archives.