<P> The surrender of Imperial Japan was announced on August 15 and formally signed on September 2 , 1945 , bringing the hostilities of World War II to a close . By the end of July 1945 , the Imperial Japanese Navy ( IJN ) was incapable of conducting major operations and an Allied invasion of Japan was imminent . Together with the British Empire and China , the United States called for the unconditional surrender of the Japanese armed forces in the Potsdam Declaration on July 26 , 1945 -- the alternative being `` prompt and utter destruction '' . While publicly stating their intent to fight on to the bitter end , Japan 's leaders ( the Supreme Council for the Direction of the War , also known as the `` Big Six '' ) were privately making entreaties to the still - neutral Soviet Union to mediate peace on terms more favorable to the Japanese . Meanwhile , the Soviets were preparing to attack Japanese forces in Manchuria and Korea ( in addition to South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands ) in fulfillment of promises they had secretly made to the United States and the United Kingdom at the Tehran and Yalta Conferences . </P>
<P> The surrender of Imperial Japan was announced on August 15 and formally signed on September 2 , 1945 , bringing the hostilities of World War II to a close . By the end of July 1945 , the Imperial Japanese Navy ( IJN ) was incapable of conducting major operations and an Allied invasion of Japan was imminent . Together with the British Empire and China , the United States called for the unconditional surrender of the Japanese armed forces in the Potsdam Declaration on July 26 , 1945 -- the alternative being `` prompt and utter destruction '' . While publicly stating their intent to fight on to the bitter end , Japan 's leaders ( the Supreme Council for the Direction of the War , also known as the `` Big Six '' ) were privately making entreaties to the still - neutral Soviet Union to mediate peace on terms more favorable to the Japanese . Meanwhile , the Soviets were preparing to attack Japanese forces in Manchuria and Korea ( in addition to South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands ) in fulfillment of promises they had secretly made to the United States and the United Kingdom at the Tehran and Yalta Conferences . </P>
when did the japanese surrender to the allied forces
when did the japanese surrender to the allied forces
September 2 , 1945
September 2 , 1945