On August 14, 1945, Imperial Japan announced its surrender to the Allies, marking Victory over Japan Day or “V-J Day”. After the second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki on August 9 and the Soviet Union invaded Japanese held Manchuria on the same day, Japan communicated that it intended to surrender according to the terms of the Potsdam Declaration, which had been issued by the Allies on July 26, 1945. The Potsdam Declaration stated that if Japan surrendered unconditionally, they would be allowed to have a peaceful government in accordance with the wants and needs of the Japanese people; if they chose not to surrender unconditionally, however, they would be destroyed. As it became clear that the United States could make good on their promise to destroy them. Japanese Emperor Hirohito addressed his people via radio broadcast and announced their surrender on August 15. Because of time zone differences, the message reached the United States on August 14. President Harry Truman held a press conference at the White House, declaring victory for the Allies and the death of fascism.
Celebrations raged on throughout the United States, as Americans expressed their relief and excitement that the war was finally over. Across the country, people filled the streets to mark the momentous occasion. The Japanese reaction, however, was not as jubilant. Distraught by their country’s surrender, many Japanese soldiers committed suicide to avoid experiencing what they saw as a great dishonor. Some Japanese soldiers even expressed their anger by murdering Allied prisoners of war that had not yet been liberated. On September 2, 1945 , on the battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, Japanese commanders officially signed the documents of formal surrender. September 2 is thus the day the United States formally celebrates V-J Day, while in the UK it is celebrated on August 15.
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