View source for Victory over Japan Day

{{Short description|Celebration of the end of World War II}}
{{About|the event and commemoration day|the holiday in the US|Victory Day (United States)|the holiday in China|Victory over Japan Day (China)|the photograph|V-J Day in Times Square{{!}}''V-J Day in Times Square''}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Infobox holiday
|holiday_name = Victory over Japan Day
|type = Victory Day
|image = Surrender of Japan - USS Missouri (restored).jpg
|imagesize = 240px
|caption = Representatives of the Empire of Japan aboard {{USS|Missouri|BB-63|6}} at the [[surrender of Japan]] on September 2, 1945
|official_name =
|nickname = V-J Day, Victory in the Pacific Day, V-P Day
|observedby =
|litcolor =
|longtype =
|significance =
|begins =
|ends =
|date = {{start date|1945|8|15|df=y}}{{efn|14 August 1945 in the Americas and other Pacific islands due to time zone differences.}} <br> {{start date|1945|9|02|df=y}}
|scheduling = Two dates
|duration = 1 day
|frequency = Annually
|celebrations =
|observances =
|relatedto = [[Victory in Europe Day]]
}}

'''Victory over Japan Day''' (also known as '''V-J Day''', '''Victory in the Pacific Day''', or '''V-P Day'''<ref name=vp_day>{{Cite web |url=https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/encyclopedia/vp_day |title=Victory in the Pacific (VP) Day|publisher=Australian War Memorial|access-date=August 15, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190815090305/https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/encyclopedia/vp_day |archive-date=August 15, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>) is the day on which [[Surrender of Japan|Imperial Japan surrendered]] in [[World War II]], in effect bringing the war [[End of World War II in Asia|to an end]]. The term has been applied to both of the days on which [[Jewel Voice Broadcast|the initial announcement]] of Japan's surrender was made – 15 August 1945, in Japan, and because of time zone differences, 14 August 1945 (when it was announced in the [[United States]] and the rest of the Americas and Eastern Pacific Islands) – as well as to 2 September 1945, when the [[Japanese Instrument of Surrender|surrender document]] was signed, officially ending World War II.

15 August is the official V-J Day for the [[United Kingdom]], while the official US commemoration is 2 September.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/vj-day | title = History.com | access-date = August 14, 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100307233939/http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/vj-day | archive-date = March 7, 2010 | url-status = dead }}</ref> The name, V-J Day, had been selected by the Allies after they named [[V-E Day]] for the victory in Europe.

On 2 September 1945, formal surrender occurred aboard the battleship [[USS Missouri (BB-63)|USS ''Missouri'']] in [[Tokyo Bay]]. In [[Japan]], August 15 usually is known as the {{nihongo|"[[memorial day for the end of the war]]"|終戦記念日|Shūsen-kinenbi}}; the official name for the day, however, is {{nihongo|"the day for mourning of war dead and praying for peace"|戦没者を追悼し平和を祈念する日|Senbotsusha wo tsuitōshi heiwa wo kinensuru hi}}. This official name was adopted in 1982 by an [[Decree|ordinance]] issued by the [[Japanese government]].<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.mhlw.go.jp/houdou/2007/08/h0808-1.html |script-title = ja:厚生労働省：全国戦没者追悼式について |language = ja |access-date = February 16, 2008 |date = August 8, 2007 |publisher = [[Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare]] |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080321222154/http://www.mhlw.go.jp/houdou/2007/08/h0808-1.html |archive-date = March 21, 2008 |url-status = live |trans-title=Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare: Regarding the National Memorial Service for People who Died in the War}}</ref>

==Surrender==
===Events before V-J Day===

Within three months of the [[Victory in Europe Day|end of the war in Europe]] on May 9 (Moscow time), the USSR would join the Allied fight against Japan, as agreed upon at the [[Yalta Conference]] in February 1945. On August 8 (Moscow time), the [[Soviet–Japanese War|Soviet Union declared war on Japan]], and attacked Japanese forces not only in Manchuria on mainland Asia, but also on the Kuril islands and Sakhalin, threatening to [[Proposed Soviet invasion of Hokkaido|attack and occupy Hokkaido]]. Already on 6 August, and again on 9 August 1945, the United States dropped [[Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki|atomic bombs]], on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively, with a "[[Third Shot]]" not possible before August 19. The Japanese government on August 10 communicated its intention to surrender under the terms of the [[Potsdam Declaration]], but that was not yet the end of hostilities.

The news of the Japanese offer began early celebrations around the world. Allied soldiers in [[London in World War II|London]] danced in a [[conga line]] on [[Regent Street]]. Americans and Frenchmen in [[Paris in World War II|Paris]] paraded on the [[Champs-Élysées]] singing "[[Don't Fence Me In (song)|Don't Fence Me In]]". American soldiers in [[occupied Berlin]] shouted "It's over in the Pacific", and hoped that they would now not be transferred there to fight the Japanese. Germans stated that the Japanese were wise enough—unlike themselves—to give up in a hopeless situation, and were grateful that the atomic bomb was not ready in time to be used against them. [[Moscow]] newspapers briefly reported on the atomic bombings with no commentary of any kind. While "Russians and foreigners alike could hardly talk about anything else", the Soviet government refused to make any statements on the bombs' implication for politics or science.{{r|life1945082038}}

In [[Chongqing]], Chinese fired firecrackers and "almost buried Americans in gratitude". In [[Manila]], residents sang "[[God Bless America]]". On [[Okinawa Island|Okinawa]], six men were killed and dozens were wounded as American soldiers "took every weapon within reach and started firing into the sky" to celebrate; ships sounded [[general quarters]] and fired [[anti-aircraft gun]]s as their crews believed that a ''[[kamikaze]]'' attack was occurring. On [[Tinian]] island, [[B-29]] crews preparing for their next mission over Japan were told that it was cancelled, but that they could not celebrate because it might be rescheduled<ref name="life1945082038">{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hkgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA38 |title=Victory Reports Around the World: U. S. Fighting Men Lead Wild Celebrations at Japs' Surrender Offer |magazine=Life |date=August 20, 1945 |access-date=November 25, 2011 |pages=38–38A |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130622014901/http://books.google.com/books?id=hkgEAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA25&pg=PA38#v=onepage&q&f=true |archive-date=June 22, 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> for a "[[Third Shot]]".

===Japan's acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration===
A little after noon [[Japan Standard Time]] on 15 August 1945, [[Emperor]] [[Hirohito]]'s [[Jewel Voice Broadcast|announcement]] of Japan's acceptance of the terms of the [[Potsdam Declaration]] was broadcast to the Japanese people over the radio. Earlier the same day, the Japanese government had broadcast an announcement over [[Radio Tokyo]] that "acceptance of the Potsdam Proclamation [would be] coming soon", and had advised the Allies of the surrender by sending a cable to U.S. President [[Harry S Truman]] via the [[Switzerland|Swiss]] diplomatic mission in [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref>{{cite book |last=Hakim |first=Joy |title=A History of Us: War, Peace and all that Jazz |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1995 |location=New York |isbn=0-19-509514-6}}</ref> A nationwide broadcast by Truman was aired at seven o'clock p.m. ([[daylight time]] in [[Washington, D.C.]]) on Tuesday, 14 August, announcing the communication and that the formal event was scheduled for September 2. In his announcement of Japan's surrender on 14 August, Truman said that "the proclamation of V-J Day must wait upon [[Surrender of Japan|the formal signing of the surrender terms by Japan]]".<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/policy/1945/450814a.html |title = Japanese acceptance of Potsdam declaration announced by President Truman |website = ibiblio.org |access-date = May 21, 2009 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170517021626/http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/policy/1945/450814a.html |archive-date = May 17, 2017 |url-status = live }}</ref>

Since the European [[Axis powers]] had surrendered three months earlier ([[V-E Day]]), V-J Day was the effective end of [[World War II]], although a peace treaty between Japan and most of the Allies was not signed until 1952, and between Japan and the Soviet Union until 1956. In [[Australia]], the name ''V-P Day'' (Victory in the Pacific) was used from the outset. The ''[[Canberra Times]]'' of 14 August 1945, refers to V-P Day celebrations, and a [[public holiday]] for V-P Day was gazetted by the government in that year according to the [[Australian War Memorial]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.canberratimes.com.au/|title=Canberra Times – Local Canberra News, World News & Breaking News in ACT, Australia|access-date=August 15, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160814151110/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/|archive-date=August 14, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=vp_day/>

===Public celebrations===
After news of the Japanese acceptance and before Truman's announcement, civilians began celebrating "as if joy had been rationed and saved up for the three years, eight months and seven days since Sunday, Dec. 7, 1941" (the day of the Japanese [[attack on Pearl Harbor]]), ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]'' magazine reported.{{r|life1945082721}} In [[Washington, D.C.]] a crowd attempted to break into the White House grounds as they shouted "We want Harry!"<ref>{{Cite news |date=August 15, 1945 |title=World Enters Era of Peace as Truman Warns of Task Ahead |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3051258// |newspaper=Warren Times Mirror |location=Warren, PA |page=1 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=August 20, 2015 }} {{Open access}}</ref>

In [[San Francisco]] two nude women jumped into a pond at the [[Civic Center, San Francisco|Civic Center]] to soldiers' cheers.{{r|life1945082721}} More seriously, thousands of drunken people, the vast majority of them Navy enlistees who had not served in the war theatre, embarked in what the ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'' summarized in 2015 as "a three-night orgy of vandalism, looting, assault, robbery, rape and murder" and "the deadliest riots in the city's history", with more than 1,000 people injured, 13 killed, and at least six women raped. None of these acts resulted in serious criminal charges, and no civilian or military official was sanctioned, leading the ''Chronicle'' to conclude that "the city simply tried to pretend the riots never happened".<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url = http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Peace-Riots-left-trail-of-death-at-end-of-6445437.php|title = 'Peace Riots' left trail of death at end of WWII in S.F.|last = Kamiya|first = Gary|date = August 14, 2015|work = San Francisco Chronicle|access-date = August 14, 2015|quote = <!-- Thousands of frenzied, drunken revelers, an estimated 90 percent of them young Navy enlistees who had not served overseas, embarked on a three-night orgy of vandalism, looting, assault, robbery, rape and murder. [...] on Friday morning, 13 people were dead, at least six women had been raped, 1,059 people were injured, and an incalculable amount of damage had been done [...]. They were the deadliest riots in the city’s history. [...] Although everyone involved — the mayor, police chief, top Navy brass, the state body responsible for controlling sales of alcohol, the city’s liquor stores and bars and, of course, the sailors and civilian rioters themselves — was culpable, no one paid a price for their misconduct. No sailor or civilian was ever charged with murder, rape, looting, assault or any serious crime. [...] No officials, civilian or military, were ever punished or even reprimanded. A grand jury investigation was a farce. The city simply tried to pretend the riots never happened. -->|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170518185705/http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Peace-Riots-left-trail-of-death-at-end-of-6445437.php|archive-date = May 18, 2017|url-status = live}}</ref>

The largest crowd in the history of [[New York City]]'s [[Times Square]] gathered to celebrate.{{r|life1945082721}} The victory itself was announced by a headline on the "zipper" [[news ticker]] at [[One Times Square]], which read "OFFICIAL *** TRUMAN ANNOUNCES JAPANESE SURRENDER ***"; the six asterisks represented the branches of the U.S. Armed Forces.<ref name="nyt-lightsout">{{cite news |title=Lights Out for Times Square News Sign? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/12/11/nyregion/lights-out-for-times-square-news-sign.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=January 20, 2013 |first=Lawrence |last=Van Gelder |date=December 11, 1994 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160508082535/http://www.nytimes.com/1994/12/11/nyregion/lights-out-for-times-square-news-sign.html |archive-date=May 8, 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> In the [[Garment District, Manhattan|Garment District]], workers threw out cloth scraps and ticker tape, leaving a pile five inches deep on the streets. The news of the war's end sparked a "coast-to-coast frenzy of [servicemen] kissing . . . everyone in skirts that happened along," with ''Life'' publishing photographs of such kisses in Washington, [[Kansas City]], [[Los Angeles]], and [[Miami]].<ref name="life1945082721">{{cite magazine |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=e0gEAAAAMBAJ&q=life%20magazine%20aug%2027%201945&pg=PA21 |title = Victory Celebrations |magazine = Life |date = August 27, 1945 |access-date = November 25, 2011 |page = 21 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130621125921/http://books.google.com/books?id=e0gEAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA4&dq=life%20magazine%20aug%2027%201945&pg=PA21#v=onepage&f=true |archive-date = June 21, 2013 |url-status = live }}</ref>

<gallery widths="220" heights="160">
US-Soviet sailors on VJ Day.jpg|US and Soviet sailors and seamen celebrating V-J Day on August 14, 1945
V-J Day Times Square NYWTS.jpg|Crowds celebrating V-J Day in [[Times Square]] on August 14, 1945
War Ends.jpg|Citizens and workers of [[Oak Ridge, Tennessee]] celebrate V-J Day on August 14, 1945{{efn|Oak Ridge was part of the [[Manhattan Project]], which resulted in the [[atomic bomb]].}}
American military personnel gather in Paris to celebrate the Japanese surrender.jpg|Allied military personnel in [[Paris]] celebrating V-J Day on August 15, 1945
ShanghaiCelebratingJapaneseSurrender.jpg|Crowds in [[Shanghai]] celebrating V-J Day on August 15, 1945
3 September 1945 - Chungking Victory Parade.jpg|Chinese victory parade in [[Chongqing]] on September 3, 1945
1945-Dancing-Man.jpg|[[Dancing Man]] in [[Sydney]] on August 15, 1945
Parade in Montreal's Chinatown.jpg|[[Montreal]]'s Chinese community celebrates V-J Day with a parade in [[Chinatown, Montreal|Chinatown]] on September 2, 1945
Civilians and service personnel in London's Picadilly Circus celebrate the news of Allied Victory over Japan in August 1945. D25636.jpg|Civilians and service personnel in [[London]] celebrating V-J Day on August 15, 1945
</gallery>

====Famous photographs====
[[File:Kissing the War Goodbye.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Victor Jorgensen]]'s photo published in ''The New York Times'']]
One of the best-known kisses that day appeared in ''[[V-J Day in Times Square]]'', one of the most famous photographs ever published by [[Life (magazine)|''Life'']]. It was shot on August 14, 1945, shortly before the announcement by President Truman occurred and when people were beginning to gather in celebration. [[Alfred Eisenstaedt]] went to Times Square to take candid photographs and spotted a sailor who "grabbed something in white. And I stood there, and they kissed. And I snapped four times."<ref>{{cite book|last=Eisenstaedt|first=Alfred|title=Eisenstaedt on Eisenstaedt|year=1985|publisher=Abbeville Press}}</ref> The same moment was captured in a very similar photograph by Navy photographer [[Victor Jorgensen]] (right), published in ''[[the New York Times]]''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Newman |first=Andy |date=August 13, 2010 |title=Nurse Tells of Storied Kiss. No, Not That Nurse. |url=http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/13/from-photos-periphery-an-eyewitness-to-a-timeless-kiss/?_r=0 |newspaper=The New York Times |location=New York, NY |access-date=August 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151012154049/http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/13/from-photos-periphery-an-eyewitness-to-a-timeless-kiss/?_r=0 |archive-date=October 12, 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> Several people have since claimed to be the sailor or the female, who was long assumed to be a nurse.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Chan |first=Sewell |date=August 14, 2007 |title=62 Years Later, a Kiss That Can't Be Forgotten |url=http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/08/14/62-years-later-a-kiss-that-cant-be-forgotten/ |newspaper=The New York Times |location=New York, NY |access-date=August 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905213156/http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/08/14/62-years-later-a-kiss-that-cant-be-forgotten/ |archive-date=September 5, 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> It has since been established that the woman in the Alfred Eisenstaedt photograph was actually a dental assistant named [[Greta Zimmer Friedman]], who clarified in a later interview that "I was grabbed by a sailor and it wasn't that much of a kiss, it was more of a jubilant act that he didn't have to go back, I found out later, he was so happy that he did not have to go back to the Pacific where they already had been through the war. And the reason he grabbed someone dressed like a nurse was that he just felt very grateful to nurses who took care of the wounded."<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://memory.loc.gov/diglib/vhp/story/loc.natlib.afc2001001.42863/transcript?ID=sr0001 |title=Interview Transcript: Greta Zimmer Friedman: Veterans History Project (Library of Congress |website=memory.loc.gov |access-date=2025-08-15}}</ref>

Another famous image is that of the [[Dancing Man]] in [[Elizabeth Street, Sydney]], captured by a press photographer and a [[Movietone News|Movietone]] [[newsreel]]. The film and stills from it have taken on iconic status in Australian history and culture as a symbol of victory in the war.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Souza |first1=Poppy De |title=Movietone Special: Peace: Australia Celebrates |url=https://aso.gov.au/titles/newsreels/movietone-special-peace/clip2/ |website=australianscreen |access-date=15 August 2025 |language=en}}</ref>

===Japanese reaction===
[[File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM In de haven van Kupang (Timor) luisteren de Japanse bevelhebber kolonel Kaida Tatuichi en zijn stafcommandant majoor Muiosu Slioji aan dek van H TMnr 10001519.jpg|thumb|Japanese commanders listen to the terms of surrender aboard an Australian warship.]]

On August 15 and 16, some Japanese soldiers, devastated by the surrender, committed [[suicide]]. Well over 100 American [[Prisoner of war#World War II|prisoners of war]] were also murdered. In addition, many Australian and British prisoners of war were murdered in [[Borneo]], at both [[Sandakan Death Marches|Ranau and Sandakan]], by the Imperial Japanese Army.<ref>[http://www.dva.gov.au/aboutDVA/publications/commemorative/sandakan/Pages/sand10.aspx Remembering Sandakan: 1945–1999] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090714071939/http://www.dva.gov.au/aboutDVA/publications/commemorative/sandakan/Pages/sand10.aspx |date=July 14, 2009 }} "Captain Hoshijima Susumi was able to reveal from his knowledge of the war crimes interrogation documents that the last POWs had been killed at Ranau on 27 August 1945, well after the Japanese surrender. They had undoubtedly been killed, in [[Athol Moffitt|Moffitt]]'s view, to stop them being able to testify to the atrocities committed by the guards."</ref> At [[Batu Lintang camp]], also in Borneo, [[Batu lintang camp#Death orders|death orders]] were found which proposed the murder of some 2,000 POWs and civilian internees on September 15, 1945, but the camp was liberated four days before these orders were due to be carried out.<ref>Ooi, Keat Gin (1998) ''Japanese Empire in the Tropics: Selected Documents and Reports of the Japanese Period in Sarawak, Northwest Borneo, 1941–1945'' Ohio University Centre for International Studies, Monographs in International Studies, SE Asia Series 101 (2 vols), page 648; [[Agnes Newton Keith|Keith, Agnes]], 1947 ''Three Came Home''183, 206</ref>  Japanese forces remained [[Soviet–Japanese War|in combat with Soviet forces]] on several fronts for two weeks following V-J Day.

===Ceremony aboard USS ''Missouri''===
The formal signing of the [[Japanese Instrument of Surrender]] took place on board the [[battleship]] {{USS|Missouri|BB-63|6}} in [[Tokyo Bay]] on September 2, 1945, and at that time Truman declared September 2 to be the official V-J Day.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.trumanlibrary.org/calendar/viewpapers.php?pid=129 |title= Radio Address to the American People After the Signing of the Terms of Unconditional Surrender by Japan	 |publisher=Truman Library |date=September 1, 1945 |access-date=February 28, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120211000409/http://www.trumanlibrary.org/calendar/viewpapers.php?pid=129 |archive-date=February 11, 2012 }}</ref>

==Chronology==
{{Main|Surrender of Japan}}
* April 1 – June 21, 1945: [[Battle of Okinawa]]. 82,000+ US military casualties, and 117,000+ Japanese and Okinawan. Approximately one quarter of the Okinawan civilian population died, often in mass suicides organized by the Imperial Japanese Army.
* July 26: The [[Potsdam Declaration]] is issued. Truman tells Japan to surrender or suffer "prompt and utter destruction."<ref name=atomicarchive>{{cite web | title = Potsdam Declaration: Proclamation Defining Terms for Japanese Surrender Issued, at Potsdam, July 26, 1945 | url = http://www.atomicarchive.com/Docs/Hiroshima/Potsdam.shtml | publisher =  atomicarchive.com | access-date = August 16, 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170519195406/http://www.atomicarchive.com/Docs/Hiroshima/Potsdam.shtml | archive-date = May 19, 2017 | url-status = live }}</ref>
* July 29: Japan rejects the Potsdam Declaration.
* August 2: The [[Potsdam Conference]] ends.
* August 6: The US drops an [[atomic bomb]], [[Little Boy]], on [[Hiroshima]]. In a press release 16 hours later, Truman warns Japan to surrender or "expect a rain of ruin from the air, the like of which has never been seen on this earth."<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/truman-hiroshima/ | title=Announcing the Bombing of Hiroshima |date= August 6, 1945 |first1=Harry S. |last1=Truman | website=[[PBS]] | access-date=August 15, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150810205913/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/primary-resources/truman-hiroshima/ | archive-date=August 10, 2015 | url-status=live }}</ref>
* August 9: The USSR declares war on Japan, and invades [[Soviet invasion of Manchuria|several Japanese-held territories]]. The US drops another atomic bomb, [[Fat Man]], on [[Nagasaki]].
* August 10: At the direction of the Emperor, the Japanese Foreign Ministry notifies the Allies (via Swiss diplomatic channels) of Japan's intention to surrender unconditionally in accordance with the terms of the Potsdam Declaration, providing the Emperor be permitted to remain in place.
* August 11: The Allies notify the Japanese government (again via Swiss diplomats) of their willingness to accept Japan's surrender as offered.
* August 14: Allied governments announce the surrender of Japan, and the Emperor informs his people of the fact in an [[Hirohito surrender broadcast|unprecedented radio broadcast]]. The date is described as "V-J Day" or "V-P Day" in newspapers in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.
* September 2: Official surrender ceremony is held aboard {{USS|Missouri|BB-63|6}} in Tokyo Bay; President Truman declares September 2 as the official "V-J Day".
* November 1: Scheduled commencement of ''[[Operation Olympic]]'', the planned Allied invasion of [[Kyushu]].
* March 1, 1946: Scheduled commencement of ''[[Operation Downfall#Coronet|Operation Coronet]]'', the planned Allied invasion of [[Honshu]].
* September 8, 1951: 48 countries including Japan and most of the Allies sign the [[Treaty of San Francisco]]
* April 28, 1952: The Treaty of San Francisco goes into effect, formally ending the state of war between Japan and most of the Allied countries.

'''Post war:'''
* Some [[Japanese holdout|Japanese soldiers continued to fight]] on isolated Pacific islands until at least the 1970s, with the last known Japanese soldier surrendering in 1974.<ref>Kristof, Nicholas D. [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE7D81F3BF935A1575AC0A961958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2  "Shoichi Yokoi, 82, Is Dead; Japan Soldier Hid 27 Years"], ''New York Times''. September 26, 1997. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090201172619/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE7D81F3BF935A1575AC0A961958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2 |date=February 1, 2009 }}.</ref><ref>"The Last PCS for Lieutenant Onoda," ''Pacific Stars and Stripes'', March 13, 1974, p6</ref><ref>"Onoda Home; 'It Was 30 Years on Duty'," ''Pacific Stars and Stripes'', March 14, 1974, p7</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,917064,00.html?iid=chix-sphere |title=The Last Last Soldier? |publisher=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=January 13, 1975 |access-date=February 28, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130522035545/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,917064,00.html?iid=chix-sphere |archive-date=May 22, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Commemoration==

===Australia===
[[File:V.P. Day Celebrations at Caloundra Lighthouse, 1945.jpg|thumb|Victory celebrations at [[Caloundra]], Queensland 1945]]
On 15 August 1945 Australian Prime Minister Ben Chifley announced on radio that Japan had unconditionally surrendered to allied forces. This day, which has become known as VP Day, was marked with jubilant celebrations across the nation as citizens looked towards a future free of conflict and fear of invasion. To manage celebrations authorities closed pubs, as they had on VE Day. However, this did not dissuade individuals from partying, with crowds gathering in streets and strangers dancing together in city squares.<ref>{{SLQ-CC-BY|url=https://www.slq.qld.gov.au/blog/victory-pacific-rituals|title=Victory in the Pacific rituals|date=9 October 2022|authors=Kate Hall|access-date=2 February 2023}}</ref>

In [[Australia]], many use the term "VP Day" in preference to "VJ Day", but in the publication ''The Sixth Year of War in Pictures'' published by ''[[The Sun News-Pictorial]]'' in 1946, the term "VJ Day" is used on pages 250 and 251.<ref>"The Sixth Year of War in Pictures", The Sun News Pictorial, Melbourne. 1946</ref> Also an Australian Government 50th Anniversary Medal issued in 1995 has "VJ-Day" stamped on it.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/REL29492?image=2|title=Wartime Issue 21|work=Australian War Memorial|access-date=August 16, 2020}}</ref>

====Amateur radio====
[[Amateur radio]] operators in Australia hold the "Remembrance Day Contest" on the weekend nearest VP Day, August 15, remembering amateur radio operators who died during World War II and to encourage friendly participation and help improve the operating skills of participants. The contest runs for 24 hours, from 0800 [[UTC]] on the Saturday, preceded by a broadcast including a speech by a dignitary or notable Australian (such as the [[Prime Minister of Australia]], [[Governor-General of Australia]], or a military leader) and the reading of the names of amateur radio operators who are known to have died. It is organized by the [[Wireless Institute of Australia]], with operators in each Australian state contacting operators in other states, [[New Zealand]], and [[Papua New Guinea]]. A trophy is awarded to the state that can boast the greatest rate of participation, based on a formula including: number of operators, number of contacts made, and radio frequency bands used.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.wia.org.au/members/contests/rdcontest/ |title = Remembrance Day Contest |access-date = August 15, 2009 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170522061349/http://www.wia.org.au/members/contests/rdcontest/ |archive-date = May 22, 2017 |url-status = live }}</ref>

===China===
[[File:2015 China Victory Day Parade (1).jpg|thumb|70th-anniversary [[2015 China Victory Day Parade|Victory Day Parade]] on [[Tiananmen Square]]]]
As the final official surrender of Japan was accepted aboard the battleship [[USS Missouri (BB-63)|USS ''Missouri'']] in [[Tokyo Bay]] on September 2, 1945, the [[Nationalist Government]] of the [[Republic of China (1912–49)|Republic of China]] announced three-day holidays to celebrate V-J Day, starting September 3.{{cn|date=October 2025}} Starting from 1946, September 3 was celebrated as "Victory of War of Resistance against Japan Day" ({{lang-zh|s=抗日戰爭勝利紀念日|p=Kàngrì Zhànzhēng Shènglì Jìniànrì}}), which evolved into the [[Armed Forces Day]] ({{lang-zh|軍人節}}) in 1955. September 3 is recognized as [[Victory over Japan Day (China)|V-J Day]] in the [[People's Republic of China]].{{cn|date=October 2025}}

===Hong Kong===
[[File:1945 liberation of Hong Kong at Cenotaph.jpg|thumb|The [[Union Jack]] and the [[flag of the Republic of China]] were flown at the [[Cenotaph (Hong Kong)|Cenotaph in Hong Kong]].]]
Hong Kong was handed over by the Imperial Japanese Army to the [[Royal Navy]] on August 30, 1945, and resumed its pre-war status as a [[British dependency]]. Hong Kong celebrated the "[[Liberation Day (Hong Kong)|Liberation Day]]" ({{zh|t=重光紀念日|j=cung4 gwong1 gei2 nim3 jat6|links=no}}) on August 30 (later moved to the Saturday preceding the last Monday in August) annually,<ref name="cnn-hk-1996">{{cite news |title=Hong Kong ceremony foreshadows end of an era |url=https://edition.cnn.com/WORLD/9608/26/hong.kong.liberation/index.html |publisher=CNN |date=26 August 1996 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040916203250/http://edition.cnn.com:80/WORLD/9608/26/hong.kong.liberation/index.html |archive-date=16 September 2004 |url-status=dead }}</ref> which was a public holiday before 1997. After the [[transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong|transfer of sovereignty]] in 1997, the celebration was moved to the third Monday in August and renamed "Sino-Japanese War Victory Day", the Chinese name of which is literally "Victory of War of Resistance against Japan Day" as in the rest of China, but this day was removed from the [[Public holidays in Hong Kong|list of public holidays]] in 1999. In 2014, the Chief Executive's Office announced that a commemoration ceremony would be held on September 3, in line with the "Victory Day of the Chinese people's war of resistance against Japanese aggression" in mainland China.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.bangkokpost.com/most-recent/428885/hk-to-mark-china-victory-over-japan |title= HK to mark China 'victory' over Japan |publisher=bangkokpost.com}}</ref>

===Korea===
The [[National Liberation Day of Korea|day is celebrated]] as a public holiday in South Korea,. The day has particular significance to Korea, as it is the day that it was liberated from its status as [[Korea under Japanese rule|a colony of the Empire of Japan]]. In Korea it is referred to as ''Gwangbokjeol'', ({{lit|the day the light returned}}).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.10mag.com/national-liberation-day-gwangbokjeol/ |title=What is Gwangbokjeol? |access-date=September 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170901154037/https://www.10mag.com/national-liberation-day-gwangbokjeol/ |archive-date=September 1, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Mongolia===
[[File:В Монголии военнослужащие ВВО примут участие в военном параде 02.jpg|thumb|Troops of the [[Mongolian Armed Forces]] and the [[Russian Army]] during the 80th anniversary parade in [[Choibalsan (city)|Choibalsan]]]]
Victory over Japan Day is celebrated with duality in [[Mongolia]]. It also celebrates the victory of Soviet and Mongolian forces in the [[Battles of Khalkhin Gol]]. The anniversary of the battle was first celebrated in 1969, and was periodically celebrated on a massive scale every 5 years until its 50th anniversary in 1989, after which it dwindled in importance and was reduced to the level of academic debates and lectures. It was only recently that the anniversary made a resurgence in Mongolian history.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.baabar.mn/article/who-loses-in-khalkhin-gol-battle|title=WHO LOSES IN KHALKHIN GOL BATTLE|website=www.baabar.mn &#124; Шилдэг нийтлэлчдийн клуб}}</ref> It is jointly celebrated by the [[Mongolian Armed Forces]] with the [[Russian Armed Forces]]. During the 70th, 75th and 80th anniversaries in 2009, 2014 and 2019 respectively, the [[President of Russia]] has taken part in the celebrations alongside the [[President of Mongolia]] as part of the former's [[state visit]] to the Mongolian capital.

===Netherlands===
[[File:Denhaag Indisch monument.jpg|thumb|''[[Indies Monument|Indisch monument]]'' by {{Interlanguage link|Jaroslawa Dankowa|nl}}, 1989. [[The Hague]], Netherlands.]]

The Netherlands has one national and several regional or local remembrance services on or around August 15. The national service is at the "[[Indisch monument]]" (Dutch for "Indies Monument") in [[The Hague]], where the victims of the [[Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies]] are remembered, usually in the presence of the head of state and the government. In total, there are about 20 services, also in the Indies remembrance center in [[Bronbeek]] in [[Arnhem]]. The Japanese occupation meant the twilight of Dutch colonial rule over [[Indonesia]]. [[Indonesia declared itself independent]] on August 17, 1945, just two days after the Japanese surrendered. The [[Indonesian War of Independence]] lasted until 1949, with the Netherlands recognizing Indonesian sovereignty in late December of that year.

===Vietnam===
On September 2, 1945, the same day as Japan's surrender, Ho Chi Minh [[Declaration of independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam|declared the independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/vietnam-independence-proclaimed |title=Vietnam independence proclaimed |access-date=September 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170901155150/http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/vietnam-independence-proclaimed |archive-date=September 1, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Philippines===
In the Philippines, V-J Day is celebrated annually on September 3 and is called the "Surrender of General [[Tomoyuki Yamashita]] Day".<ref name=SunStar>{{cite news|title=September 3 declared holiday nationwide to commemorate Yamashita surrender|url=https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1793273|access-date=August 2, 2019|publisher=[[Sun.Star]] Philippines|date=February 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190802130254/https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1793273|archive-date=August 2, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>
The province of [[Ifugao]] has observed every September 2 as "Victory Day", commemorating the valor of Philippine war veterans and the informal surrender of General Yamashita to the joint Filipino-American troops led-by Cpt. Grisham in the municipality of Kiangan on September 2, 1945.<ref name=PIA-CAR>{{cite news|title=PVAO recognizes Ifugao town for promoting valor and heroism of veterans|url=http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/151418103277/pvao-recognizes-ifugao-town-for-promoting-valor-and-heroism-of-veterans|access-date=August 2, 2019|agency=[[Philippine Information Agency]] – [[Cordillera Administrative Region]]|work=Philippine Information Agency|date=December 9, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150102183724/http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/151418103277/pvao-recognizes-ifugao-town-for-promoting-valor-and-heroism-of-veterans|archive-date=January 2, 2015}}</ref><ref name=WarHistoryOnline>{{cite news|title=Re-enactment of WWII episodes steal show during Victory Day Celebration in Ifugao|url=http://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/re-enactment-of-wwii-episodes-steal-show-during-victory-day-celebration-in-ifugao.html|access-date=August 2, 2019|agency=Philippine Information Agency|date=September 3, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160821035040/http://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/re-enactment-of-wwii-episodes-steal-show-during-victory-day-celebration-in-ifugao.html|archive-date=August 21, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Russia/Former USSR===
It was introduced as a holiday by decree of the [[Presidium of the Supreme Soviet]] of the Soviet Union on September 3, 1945 (the day after the surrender of Japan). The only celebration that was held in the days that followed was a [[1945 Harbin Victory Day Parade|parade]] of the [[Red Army]] in [[Harbin]]. In 1945 and 1946, this day was a national holiday. In subsequent years, it became a working day and no celebrations were held on this occasion. In modern [[Russia]], Victory over Japan Day ({{Langx|ru|День победы над Японией}}) is considered a memorable date and is celebrated as one of many [[Days of Military Honour]]. In recent years such as in 2017,<ref>{{Cite news|title=В России предлагают учредить День победы над Японией|url=https://ria.ru/society/20171031/1507880978.html|work=[[РИА Новости]]|date=October 31, 2017|access-date=October 31, 2017}}</ref> bills in the [[State Duma]] have proposed making it a national holiday.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://redday.ru/autumn/09/03.asp |title=День победы над милитаристской Японией – конец Второй Мировой Войны!|website=Праздник каждый день |publisher=redday.ru|access-date=October 31, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171103074901/http://redday.ru/autumn/09/03.asp |archive-date=November 3, 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Подзабытое торжество |url=https://www.ng.ru/politics/2010-03-26/3_holiday.html |work=[[Новая газета]] |date=March 26, 2010 |access-date=October 31, 2017}}</ref> In 2023, Russia renamed the holiday from "Day of the End of World War II (1945)" to "Day of Victory over Militaristic Japan and the End of World War II (1945)", a move Japan called "extremely regrettable".<ref name=":02">{{Cite web |last=Wang |first=Orange |date=2025-12-03 |title=China, Russia united against ‘Japanese militarism’ as Wang Yi, Shoigu meet |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3335058/wwii-allies-china-russia-take-united-stand-against-japanese-militarism |access-date=2025-12-03 |website=[[South China Morning Post]] |language=en}}</ref>

A [[military parade]] of the [[Eastern Military District]] is annually held in the cities of [[Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk]] or [[Khabarovsk]], being one of the only parades being held on this day. Parades have also been held on September 2 in the [[federal subjects of Russia]] that celebrate the anniversary of the [[Battles of Khalkhin Gol]], such as [[Buryatia]], [[Yakutia]] and the [[Altai Republic]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://egov-buryatia.ru/press_center/news/detail.php?ID=51796 |title=Парад в честь 80-летия Победы советских и монгольских войск на реке Халхин-Гол прошел в Улан-Удэ |website=egov-buryatia.ru}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://regnum.ru/news/polit/2719686.html |title=Info |publisher=Regnum.ru |date=September 16, 2019 |access-date=December 30, 2019}}</ref> In the breakaway [[Moldova]]n-republic of [[Transnistria]], Victory over Japan Day is jointly celebrated with their [[Republic Day of Transnistria|Republic Day]] celebrations, which take place on the same day.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://sakhalinmedia.ru/news/729537/?from=43 |title=Парад в честь 73-й годовщины окончания Второй мировой войны прошёл в Южно-Сахалинске – SakhalinMedia<!-- Bot generated title --> |website=sakhalinmedia.ru}}</ref>

===United States===

Although September 2 is the designated "V-J Day" in the entire United States, the event is not an official federal or state holiday. [[Rhode Island]] celebrates the ending of WW2 as "[[Victory Day (United States)|Victory Day]]",<ref>{{cite web |url=http://sos.ri.gov/library/history/facts |title=Home > State Library > History of Rhode Island > State Facts & Figures |publisher=Rhode Island Office of the Secretary of State |access-date=September 24, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927174444/http://sos.ri.gov/library/history/facts/ |archive-date=September 27, 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> and it is observed on the second Monday of August.

V-J Day was initially commemorated throughout the United States every year on September 2, beginning in 1948, but as the war faded from memory so has the holiday. According to [[WPRI-TV]], the reason for abolishing V-J Day was economic, because workers got a paid day off. There was even a debate over whether or not even Rhode Island would abolish their own Victory Day celebrations. Some towns in various states still celebrate V-J day. [[Moosup, Connecticut]] and the village of [[Hillman, Michigan]] hold an annual V-J day parade on the 2nd Sunday in August; holding the distinction of being the two oldest continuous parades celebrating V-J day since the actual surrender of the Japanese in 1945. Arkansas was another state to make the holiday official statewide, but it abolished it in 1975.<ref name=victory>{{cite web |url=http://blogs.wpri.com/2013/08/12/happy-victory-day-an-only-in-rhode-island-institution-since-75-2/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130814130148/http://blogs.wpri.com/2013/08/12/happy-victory-day-an-only-in-rhode-island-institution-since-75-2/|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 14, 2013|title=It's Victory Day, an only-in-Rhode Island institution since 1975|date=12 August 2013|author-first1=Ted|author-last1=Nesi|website=[[WPRI-TV|WPRI]]}}</ref>

==World Peace Day==
{{main|World Peace Day}}

It was suggested in the 1960s to declare September 2, the anniversary of the end of World War II, as an international holiday to be called [[World Peace Day]]. However, when this holiday came to be first celebrated beginning in 1981, it was designated as September 21, the day the [[United Nations General Assembly|General Assembly]] of the [[United Nations]] begins its deliberations each year.

==See also==
{{Portal|Japan}}
* [[Japanese holdout]]s
* [[Mokusatsu]]
* [[Kyūjō incident]]
* [[Retrocession Day]], in Taiwan (ROC)
* [[Zero hour (1945)]]
* [[Robert Trout#Trout announces end of WWII|Robert Trout]], first American newsman to announce the Japanese surrender
* [[Victory in Europe Day]]

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|33em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|V-J Day}}
*
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050908070844/http://www.army.mil/postwarjapan/ The U.S. Army in Post-WWII Japan]
* [http://www.history.army.mil/banner_images/focus/V-J_Day/index.html V-J Day portal] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170522064301/http://www.history.army.mil/banner_images/focus/V-J_Day/index.html |date=May 22, 2017 }} at the [[US Army Center of Military History]]
* [https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/ve-day-and-vj-day VJ Day in New Zealand] 
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0K3ZSXg70I RAW: Russia's Kamchatka commemorates 70th anniversary of victory in WWII]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kIo2Q-OxtY UK – 50th Anniversary Of VJ Day Festivities]
* Australia – [https://www.slq.qld.gov.au/blog/victory-pacific-rituals Victory in the Pacific rituals]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Victory Over Japan Day}}
[[Category:1945 in Japan]]
[[Category:Surrender of Japan]]
[[Category:Aftermath of World War II]]
[[Category:Aftermath of World War II in the United States]]
[[Category:August observances]]
[[Category:Victory days|Over Japan]]
[[Category:Japan–United States relations]]
[[Category:Aftermath of World War II in Japan]]
[[Category:1945 in Asia]]
[[Category:September observances]]
[[Category:August 1945]]
[[Category:September 1945]]
[[Category:End of World War II]]