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DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
901 M STREET SE -- WASHINGTON NAVY YARD
WASHINGTON DC 20374-5060

Online Library of Selected Images:
-- EVENTS -- World War II in the Pacific -- Japan Capitulates --

Surrender of Japanese Forces Outside of Japan, 22 August - mid-September 1945
-- Overview and Special Image Selection.

Even before the 2 September ceremonies in Tokyo Bay, isolated Japanese forces had begun to surrender. In the Marshall Islands, Mili Atolls' starving garrison led the way on 22 August. Others waited until the home government had made its own formal capitulation and until Allied troops were in a position to take over. By mid-September 1945, most Japanese overseas positions were at least nominally under the control of the Allies, or of indigenous groups.

This page presents a special selection of pictures of Japanese surrenders outside the home islands. It also provides links to additional photographs on these subjects.

The following pages offer more extensive visual coverage of the surrender of Japanese forces outside of Japan:

For views of other aspects of Japan's surrender, see: Japan Capitulates, August - September 1945

If you want higher resolution reproductions than the Online Library's digital images, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions."

Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.

Photo #: 80-G-490371

Surrender of Japan, 1945


Japanese and U.S. officers negotiate the surrender of Mili Atoll, Marshalls, on board USS Levy (DE-162), 22 August 1945.
At left is the senior U.S. officer present, Captain H. B. Grow, USNR.
Japanese officer at right is Navy Captain Masanori Shiga.
Note packs of cigarettes on the table.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.

Online Image: 82KB; 740 x 615 pixels

Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system.

 

Photo #: NH 62801

Surrender of Japan, 1945


Japanese delegation in formation on the well deck of USS Portland (CA-33), 2 September 1945. They were on board to surrender the Japanese base at Truk, Caroline Islands.
Those in the front row are (left to right):
Vice Admiral Chuichi Hara, Commander, 4th Fleet;
Lieutenant General Shunzaburo Mugikura, Commanding General, 31st Army, and
Rear Admiral Aritaka Aihara, head of the Eastern Branch of the South Seas Government.
In next row are (left to right):
Rear Admiral Michio Sumikawa, Chief of Staff, 4th Fleet, and
Colonel Waichi Tajima, Chief of Staff, 31st Army.
In rear row are (left to right):
Lieutenant Ryokichi Morioka, Aide to VAdm. Hara, and
Lieutenant Kenzo Yoshida, Aide to LtG. Mugikura.

Collection of Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz.

U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

Online Image: 70KB; 565 x 765 pixels

 

Photo #: 80-G-386390

Surrender of Japan, 1945


Lieutenant General Yoshio Tachibana, Japanese Army, prepares to sign documents surrendering the Bonin Islands, 3 September 1945, off Chichi Jima, on board USS Dunlap (DD-384). A U.S. Army interpreter is assisting him.
Japanese officers standing behind LtG. Tachibana are (left to right): Lieutenant Commander I. Shinoda, Major Y. Horie, Captain J. Sato and Captain S. Terasawa.
At the extreme left is Lieutenant David C. McMillion, USN.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.

Online Image: 89KB; 740 x 605 pixels

Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system.

 

Photo #: 80-G-344918

Japanese Surrender in the Ryukyu Islands, September 1945


Lieutenant General Joseph W. Stilwell, Commanding General, Tenth Army, signs the surrender document during ceremonies held at Tenth Army Headquarters on Okinawa, 7 September 1945.
Standing beside him are Colonel Philip H. Bethune, of the G-2 Section, and Major General Frank D. Merrill, Chief of Staff, Tenth Army. Interpreter T/4 Robert H. Oda is standing opposite the table, at right. The Japanese delegation is standing behind the table, at left.
Note Tenth Army shoulder patch worn by T/4 Oda.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.

Online Image: 119KB; 740 x 615 pixels

Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system.

 

Photo #: 80-G-391464

Surrender of Japanese Forces in Southern Korea, September 1945


Lowering the Japanese flag, during surrender ceremonies at Seoul, Korea, 9 September 1945.
Taken by a USS San Francisco (CA-38) photographer.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.

Online Image: 121KB; 600 x 765 pixels

Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system.

 

Photo #: 80-G-347131

Emaciated Japanese Naval Personnel


Photographed at a Japanese hospital in the Marshall Islands, 15 September 1945. They show the effects of the blockade and constant bombardment of "bypassed" Japanese-held islands in the central Pacific over the last year-and-a-half of World War II.
Location is probably Wotje or Maloelap Atoll.
Photographed by Photographer's Mate First Class Louis Lazarow, of Naval Air Base, Majuro.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.

Online Image: 100KB; 740 x 605 pixels

Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system.

 

Photo #: NH 96813

Surrender of Wake Atoll, 4 September 1945


Raising the U.S. flag over Wake Island on 4 September 1945, as a U.S. Marine Corps bugler plays "Colors". This was the first time the Stars and Stripes had flown over Wake since its capture by the Japanese on 23 December 1941.
The officer saluting in the right foreground is Rear Admiral Shigematsu Sakaibara, Japanese commander on Wake. Colors carried by the U.S. party, right background, include the U.S. Marine Corps flag.
Photographed by R.O. Kepler, USMC.

U.S. Marine Corps Photograph, in the Collections of the Naval Historical Center.

Online Image: 70KB; 590 x 765 pixels

 


The following pages offer more extensive visual coverage of the surrender of Japanese forces outside of Japan:

For views of other aspects of Japan's surrender, see: Japan Capitulates, August - September 1945


Return to Naval Historical Center home page.

7 March 1999