Happy V-J Day. On this day in 1945, a formal surrender ceremony is held aboard the USS Missouri. On this day, World War II effectively came to an end.
It had been less than a month since the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The bomb dropped on Hiroshima had been devastating, of course. But the second bomb dropped on Nagasaki was—if anything—even worse. That plutonium bomb produced an explosion 40 percent larger than the uranium one dropped on Hiroshima.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, then, the bombs prompted the Japanese government to consider surrendering—but it still wasn’t willing to do so unconditionally. Instead, it sought to ensure that such a document would not “compromise any demand which prejudices the prerogatives of His Majesty as a sovereign ruler.” Nevertheless, President Harry Truman ordered a halt to the atomic attacks so negotiations could commence.
By August 12, the Japanese government had the American reply: The United States would accept surrender, but any future government of Japan must be established by the “freely expressed will of the Japanese people.”
On August 14 a coup was attempted by the Staff Office of the Ministry of War of Japan and many from the Imperial Guard to stop the move to surrender. The officers murdered Lt Gen Takeshita Moro of the First Imperial Guards Division and attempted to counterfeit an order to the effect of permitting their occupation of the Imperial Palace. They attempted to place Emperor Hirohito under house arrest. Failure to obtain enough support by the remaining Army led to a collapse of the coup the next day.
Negotiations dragged on much too slowly. The Japanese government still didn’t answer right away. The “days of negotiation with a prostrate and despised enemy,” a British ambassador later said, “strained public patience.”
When the Japanese government failed to respond, conventional bombings resumed. The United States continued to prepare a third atomic bomb, just in case it was needed. And it did something else: The United States began dropping leaflets across Tokyo. The leaflets described the terms that had been offered for ending the war.
Finally, on August 15, the emperor made an announcement on public radio: Japan would surrender. It was the first time that many Japanese people had ever heard their Emperor’s voice.
The formal surrender ceremony occurred aboard the USS Missouri on September 2. The ceremony lasted for 23 minutes. General Douglas MacArthur accepted and signed the Japanese surrender as Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers. Admiral Nimitz and representatives from other nations also signed the document.
MacArthur was concerned about the Japanese still trying to keep the war going even during the surrender, so he ordered a huge armada into Tokyo Bay with huge air support to send a message that any second thoughts would be crushed.
Terms of a final treaty would still need to be negotiated, of course. But, for all intents and purposes, World War II was finally over.
It had been less than a month since the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The bomb dropped on Hiroshima had been devastating, of course. But the second bomb dropped on Nagasaki was—if anything—even worse. That plutonium bomb produced an explosion 40 percent larger than the uranium one dropped on Hiroshima.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, then, the bombs prompted the Japanese government to consider surrendering—but it still wasn’t willing to do so unconditionally. Instead, it sought to ensure that such a document would not “compromise any demand which prejudices the prerogatives of His Majesty as a sovereign ruler.” Nevertheless, President Harry Truman ordered a halt to the atomic attacks so negotiations could commence.
By August 12, the Japanese government had the American reply: The United States would accept surrender, but any future government of Japan must be established by the “freely expressed will of the Japanese people.”
On August 14 a coup was attempted by the Staff Office of the Ministry of War of Japan and many from the Imperial Guard to stop the move to surrender. The officers murdered Lt Gen Takeshita Moro of the First Imperial Guards Division and attempted to counterfeit an order to the effect of permitting their occupation of the Imperial Palace. They attempted to place Emperor Hirohito under house arrest. Failure to obtain enough support by the remaining Army led to a collapse of the coup the next day.
Negotiations dragged on much too slowly. The Japanese government still didn’t answer right away. The “days of negotiation with a prostrate and despised enemy,” a British ambassador later said, “strained public patience.”
When the Japanese government failed to respond, conventional bombings resumed. The United States continued to prepare a third atomic bomb, just in case it was needed. And it did something else: The United States began dropping leaflets across Tokyo. The leaflets described the terms that had been offered for ending the war.
Finally, on August 15, the emperor made an announcement on public radio: Japan would surrender. It was the first time that many Japanese people had ever heard their Emperor’s voice.
The formal surrender ceremony occurred aboard the USS Missouri on September 2. The ceremony lasted for 23 minutes. General Douglas MacArthur accepted and signed the Japanese surrender as Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers. Admiral Nimitz and representatives from other nations also signed the document.
MacArthur was concerned about the Japanese still trying to keep the war going even during the surrender, so he ordered a huge armada into Tokyo Bay with huge air support to send a message that any second thoughts would be crushed.
Terms of a final treaty would still need to be negotiated, of course. But, for all intents and purposes, World War II was finally over.
