The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration on Thursday started displaying one of two original copies of the instrument of surrender of Japan in World War II as part of a special exhibition to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the war this year.
The instrument was signed on Sept. 2, 1945, aboard the USS Missouri battleship anchored at Tokyo Bay by then-Japanese Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, the supreme commander of the Allied powers, and others. It will be on display until Oct. 1.
The other copy is kept in the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Diplomatic Archives.
The original copy of the imperial rescript on the signing of the instrument of surrender, inked by then-Emperor Hirohito, posthumously known as Emperor Showa, is also on display at the U.S. archives.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.