Victory over Japan Day (V-J Day) is the celebration of the Surrender of Japan, which took place on August 15, 1945, ending the Second World War. In Japan, the day is known as, Shusen-kinenbi, which literally means the "Memorial day for the end of the war". This is commemorated as Liberation Day in Korea and some other nations. The surrender of Japan in August 1945 brought World War II to a close. ... August 15 is the 227th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (228th in leap years), with 138 days remaining. ... 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Korea (Korean: 한국 or 조선, see below) is a geographic area, civilization, and former state situated on the Korean Peninsula in East Asia. ...

At noon Japan standard time on that day, Emperor Shōwa's 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 advised the Allies of the surrender by sending a cable to U.S. President Harry S. Truman via the Swiss diplomatic mission in Washington. Japan Standard Time (日本標準時 or 中央標準時) is the standard timezone in Japan that is 9 hours ahead of UTC; i. ... An emperor is a (male) monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. ... Emperor Shōwa ) (April 29, 1901 — January 7, 1989) was the 124th emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, reigning from December 25, 1926 until his death. ... Gyokuon-ban, the record used for the broadcast. ... The Potsdam Declaration or the Proclamation Defining Terms for Japanese Surrender (not to be confused with the Potsdam Agreement) was a statement issued on July 26, 1945 by Harry S. Truman, Winston Churchill, and Chiang Kai-Shek which outlined the terms of surrender for Japan as agreed upon at the... President Truman announces that Germany had surrendered (May 8 1945) Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884 – December 26, 1972) was the thirty-third President of the United States (1945–1953); as Vice President, he succeeded to the office upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt. ...

Since Japan was the last Axis Power to surrender and V-J Day followed V-E Day by three months, V-J Day marked the end of World War II. The Axis Powers is a term for the loose alliance of participants in World War II led by Germany, Italy, and Japan. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

The formal Japanese signing of the surrender terms took place on board the battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945 and at that time Truman actually declared September 2 to be VJ-Day. [1] To surrender is when soldiers give up fighting and become prisoners of war, either as individuals or when ordered to by their officers. ... The firepower of a battleship demonstrated by USS Iowa. ... Radars: AN/SPS-49 Air Search Radar AN/SPS-67 Surface Search Radar Fire control: 4 × Mk 37 Gun Fire Control 2 × Mk 38 Gun Director 1 × Mk 40 Gun Director EW: AN/SLQ-32 Other: AN/SLQ-25 NIXIE Decoy System 8 × Super Rapid Bloom Rocket Launchers (SRBOC) Armor... September 2 is the 245th day of the year (246th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday. ...

V-J Day is now sometimes referred to as V-P Day (Victory in the Pacific Day) to bring it in line with V-E Day where the major enemy power, Germany, was not singled out in the way V-J Day did to Japan. However, since no other power was an Axis belligerent in the Pacific, such alteration of nomenclature seems unnecessary to many. Combatants China (from 1937) United States (1941) U.K. (1941) Australia (from 1941) Free France (1941) Netherlands (1941) New Zealand (1941) Canada (1941) Soviet Union (1945) Japan (from 1937)  Germany (1941) Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Franklin D. Roosevelt Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Fumimaro Konoe Hideki Tojo Kuniaki Koiso Kantaro Suzuki...

Comemorative paper issued in Bougainville by the RAAF.

Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong met in the wartime capital of Chongqing, to toast to the Chinese victory over Empire of Japan.

The famous Life Magazine photograph taken by Alfred Eisenstaedt.

The kiss from another angle, photograph taken by Lt. Victor Jorgenson.

In the United States, V-J Day is commemorated on August 14 since the news of the surrender broke on that date in U.S. time zones. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1024x766, 109 KB) Summary This image was taken an uploaded by Brian Voon Yee Yap from an original document from my grandfathers photo album. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1024x766, 109 KB) Summary This image was taken an uploaded by Brian Voon Yee Yap from an original document from my grandfathers photo album. ... Bougainville and neighbouring islands Bougainville is part of Papua New Guinea and is the largest island of the Solomon Islands group. ... This work is copyrighted. ... This work is copyrighted. ... Chiang Kai-shek (Chinese: 蔣介石 or 蔣中正, October 31, 1887 – April 5, 1975) was a Chinese military and political leader who assumed the leadership of the Kuomintang (KMT) after the 1925 death of Sun Yat-sen. ... “Mao” redirects here. ... Combatants Republic of China Empire of Japan Commanders Chiang Kai-shek, Chen Cheng, Yan Xishan, Feng Yuxiang, Li Zongren, Xue Yue, Mao Zedong, Peng Dehuai Fumimaro Konoe, Hideki Tojo, Matsui Iwane, Jiro Minami, Kesago Nakajima, Toshizo Nishio, Yasuji Okamura, Umezu Yoshijiro Strength 5,600,000 4,100,000 (including 900... Chongqing (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Postal map spelling: Chungching, also Chungking) is the largest and most populous of the Peoples Republic of Chinas four provincial-level municipalities, and the only one in the less densely populated western half of China. ... Representatives of Japan stand aboard the USS Missouri prior to signing of the Instrument of Surrender. ... This work is copyrighted. ... This work is copyrighted. ... Eisenstaedts magnum opus, the V-J Day kiss. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Vjday2. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Vjday2. ... August 14 is the 226th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (227th in leap years), with 139 days remaining. ... Time Zone is also a historical computer game. ...

V-J Day is still a state holiday in Rhode Island. The holiday's official name is "Victory Day," and it is observed on the second Monday of August. This article is about the U.S. State. ...

In Australia, the name V-P Day was used from the outset. The Canberra Times of August 14, 1945, clearly states reference to VP Day celebrations, and a public holiday for VP Day was gazetted by the government in that year according to the Australian War Memorial. August 14 is the 226th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (227th in leap years), with 139 days remaining. ... 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday. ...

Events Leading Up to the Surrender

July 26, 1945: Potsdam Declaration is issued. Truman tells Japan, "Surrender or suffer prompt and utter destruction."
July 29: Japan rejects the Potsdam Declaration.
Aug 2: Potsdam conference ends.
Aug 6: A nuclear bomb, "Little Boy" is dropped on Hiroshima.
Aug 8: USSR declares war on Japan.
Aug 9: Another nuclear bomb, "Fat Man" is dropped on Nagasaki.
Aug 15: Japan surrenders.
The Potsdam Declaration or the Proclamation Defining Terms for Japanese Surrender (not to be confused with the Potsdam Agreement) was a statement issued on July 26, 1945 by Harry S. Truman, Winston Churchill, and Chiang Kai-Shek which outlined the terms of surrender for Japan as agreed upon at the... A post-war Little Boy casing mockup. ... For other uses, see Hiroshima (disambiguation). ... A post-war Fat Man model. ... Nagasaki (Japanese: 長崎市, Nagasaki-shi  , long peninsula) is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture in Japan. ...

Famous photograph

The Dancing Man.

One of the most famous photographs ever published by Life Magazine was shot in Times Square on V-J Day. Alfred Eisenstaedt was in the square taking candids when he spotted a sailor "running along the street grabbing any and every girl in sight," he later explained. "Whether she was a grandmother, stout, thin, old, didn't make any difference. I was running ahead of him with my Leica looking back over my shoulder... Then suddenly, in a flash, I saw something white being grabbed. I turned around and clicked the moment the sailor kissed the nurse." Eisenstadt was very gratified and pleased with this enduring image, saying: "People tell me that when I am in heaven they will remember this picture." Image File history File links Dancingman. ... Image File history File links Dancingman. ... A cover of Life Magazine from 1911 Life has been the name of two notable magazines published in the United States. ... Times Square Broadway at 42nd St. ... Eisenstaedts magnum opus, the V-J Day kiss. ...

The participants in the kiss were never confirmed by Eisenstaedt, whose notes on the photo were not found after his death in 1995. Life, however, accepted nurse Edith Cullen Shain's claim to this honor in a handwritten letter to Eisenstaedt 35 years later. Shain was twenty-seven on V-J Day. Over twenty men have claimed to be the sailor, but none has been positively identified. The sailor was identified by the Naval War College in August 2005 as George Mendonça, of Newport, Rhode Island, although many other men have claimed the honor. [2] However, Shain herself has said she believes the man to be former New York City police detective Carl Muscarello.

The Dancing Man

The Dancing Man was a short piece of footage that was taken of a man joyously dancing amongst the singing, cheering and celebrating crowds. It was taken on George Street, Sydney, Australia on the 15th of August 1945 and has come to symbolise the end of World War II for the Australian people. The identity of the man is uncertain with many having claimed it was them. The dancing man is a famous person who at the end of World War II was seen dancing down a street of sydney. ... This is about the city of Sydney in Australia. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

See also

• Japanese Instrument of Surrender
• Gwangbokjeol, celebrating the end of Japanese rule in Korea
• Victory in Europe Day

Representatives of Japan stand aboard the USS Missouri prior to signing of the Instrument of Surrender. ... Gwangbokjeol (광복절) is one of the four national holidays in Korea to celebrate the independence from Japan in August 15, 1945. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

External links

• Original Document: Surrender of Japan
• Japanese Sign Final Surrender Video
• Life magazine: V-J Day Kiss
• V-J Day Proclamation, 1945 — from the State Library and Archives of Florida.
• VJ Day in New Zealand

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Japanese Instrument of Surrender