Japan’s Surrender Day Date in the current year: September 3, 2024

On August 15 (or 14, depending on the time zone), 1945, Japanese Emperor Hirohito announced that the Japanese government had accepted the Potsdam Declaration and surrendered. The surrender document was signed on September 2 (or 3, again depending on the time zone), 1945 aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.

A number of countries in the world commemorate the defeat of Japan in World War II. The date of the observance may vary depending on which exactly event is commemorated (the initial announcement of Japan’s surrender or the signing of the surrender document), as well as on the time zone. Here are a few example of such observances:

• August 14 or 15: Victory over Japan Day (V-J Day), also known as Victory in the Pacific Day (V-P Day), in some Allied countries.
• August 15: National Memorial Service for War Dead in Japan.
• August 15: Liberation Day in North Korea and Independence Day in South Korea. A public holiday commemorating the end of the Japanese occupation of the Korean Peninsula.
• September 2: National Day of Vietnam. A public holiday commemorating the end of the Japanese occupation of Vietnam and the declaration of Vietnam’s independence.
• September 2: Victory over Japan Day in the United States (in Rhode Island, it is observed on the second Monday of August under the name Victory Day).
• September 3: the anniversary of the end of the Second World War, also referred to as Victory over Japan Day, in Russia.
• September 3: Armed Forces Day in Taiwan.
• September 3: Victory over Japan Day in mainland China and Hong Kong.
• September 3: Yamashita’s Surrender Day in the Philippines.

Following the official surrender of Japan, the Nationalist Government of the Republic of China announced a three-day celebration of Japan’s surrender, starting September 3, 1945. Between 1946 and 1949, September 3 was celebrated as Victory of War of Resistance Against Japan Day.

In 1949, the Communist Party of China proclaimed the People’s Republic of China on the territory of mainland China. The Nationalist Government pulled out of the mainland and relocated to Taiwan. The PRC continued to celebrate September 3 as Victory over Japan Day, whereas in Taiwan transformed into Armed Forces Day.

Hong Kong used to celebrate Liberation Day on August 30 to commemorate its handover by the Imperial Japanese Army to the Royal Navy on this day in 1945. Following the handover of Hong Kong from the UK to China in 1997, the holiday was renamed Sino-Japanese War Victory Day, moved to the third Monday of August, and removed from the list of public holidays. Since 2014, Hong Kong has celebrated V-J Day on the same day as mainland China.

In the Philippines, the celebration of Japan’s surrender is known as Yamashita’s Surrender Day. General Tomoyuki Yamashita was the Japanese military governor of the Philippines from September 24, 1944 until the surrender of Japan on September 2, 1945. After the war, he was tried for war crimes his troops had committed during the occupation of the Philippines, found guilty, and executed in Los Baños on February 23, 1946. September 3 was declared a special working holiday by President Rodrigo Duterte in 2019 and has been observed annually ever since.