Below is the text of the statement made by General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Allied Commander, at the signing of the Instrument of Surrender on the battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay, on September 2, 1945 (VJ-Day), marking the formal surrender of Japan to the Allied Powers:
We are gathered here, representative of the major warring powers, to conclude a solemn agreement whereby peace may be restored. The issues, involving divergent ideals and ideologies, have been determined on the battlefields of the world and hence are not for our discussion or debate. Nor is it for us here to meet, representing as we do a majority of the peoples of the earth, in a spirit of distrust, malice, or hatred. But rather it is for us, both victors and vanquished, to rise to that higher dignity which alone benefits the sacred purposes we are about to serve, committing all of our peoples unreservedly to faithful compliance with the undertakings they are here formally to assume.
It is my earnest hope and indeed the hope of all mankind that from this solemn occasion a better world shall emerge out of the blood and carnage of the past; a world founded upon faith and understanding; a world dedicated to the dignity of man and the fulfillment of his most cherished wish: for freedom, tolerance, and justice.
The terms and conditions upon which the surrender of the Japanese Imperial forces is here to be given and accepted are contained in the instrument of surrender now before you.
As Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, I announce it my firm purpose, in the tradition of the countries I represent, to proceed in the discharge of my responsibilities with justice and tolerance, while taking all necessary dispositions to insure that the terms of surrender are fully, promptly, and faithfully complied with.
I now invite the representatives of the Emperor of Japan and the Japanese Government and the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters to sign the instrument of surrender at the places indicated.
MAMORU SHIGMITSU stepped forward and signed on behalf of the Emperor of Japan and the Japanese Government
YOSHIJIRO UMEZU stepped forward and signed on behalf of the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters
The Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers will now sign on behalf of the nations at war with Japan.
DOUGLAS MACARTHUR stepped forward and signed on behalf of the nations at war with Japan
The representative of the United States of America will sign now.
CHESTER W. NIMITZ stepped forward and signed on behalf of the United States of America
The representative of the Republic of China will now sign.
HSU YUNG-CHANG stepped forward and signed on behalf of the Republic of China
The representative of the United Kingdom will now sign.
BRUCE FRASER stepped forward and signed on behalf of the United Kingdom
The representative of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics will now sign.
KUZMA DEREVYANKO stepped forward and signed on behalf of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
The representative of Australia will now sign.
THOMAS BLAMEY stepped forward and signed on behalf of the Commonwealth of Australia
The representative of Canada will now sign.
L. MOORE COSGRAVE stepped forward and signed on behalf of the Dominion of Canada
The representative of France will now sign.
JACQUES LE CLERC stepped forward and signed on behalf of the Provisional Government of the French Republic
The representative of the Netherlands will now sign.
C.E.L. HELFRICH stepped forward and signed on behalf of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
The representative of New Zealand will now sign.
LEONARD M. ISITT stepped forward and signed on behalf of the Dominion of New Zealand
Let us pray that peace be now restored to the world, and that God will preserve it always. These proceedings are closed.