Surrender of Japan

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Japanese foreign affairs minister Mamoru Shigemitsu signs the Japanese Instrument of Surrender aboard the USS Missouri as General Richard K. Sutherland watches, September 2, 1945

The surrender of Imperial Japan was announced by Japanese Emperor Hirohito on August 15 and formally signed on September 2, 1945. This ended World War II.

By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) was not able to carry major operations and an Allied invasion of Japan was near.

Together with the British Empire and China, the United States called for the unconditional surrender of the Japanese armed forces in the Potsdam Declaration on July 26, 1945.

A key factor in Japan's surrender were the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.[1]

References[change | change source]

  1. Hasegawa, Tsuyoshi (August 1, 2007). "The Atomic Bombs and the Soviet Invasion: What Drove Japan's Decision to Surrender?". The Asia-Pacific Journal. 5 (8). – Article ID 2501 – PDF