2 September 2005 (RFE/RL) -- Today marks the 60th anniversary of Japan's unconditional surrender in World War II, which brought an end to six years of bloody global conflict.
Japanese representatives signed the surrender document on 2 September 1945 in the presence of Allied generals and other officials aboard the "USS Missouri" warship in Tokyo Bay.
Within a half hour of the signing, a convoy of U.S. ships entered Tokyo Bay and landed 13,000 American troops.
The surrender occurred after the U.S. nuclear-bomb attacks on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August of 1945 and the Soviet Union's declaration of war on Japan on 8 August.
The U.S. occupation of Japan formally ended in 1952 and the country went on to become one of America's closest allies.
(AFP/BBC)
See RFE/RL's dedicated webpage World War II: 60 Years After"
Within a half hour of the signing, a convoy of U.S. ships entered Tokyo Bay and landed 13,000 American troops.
The surrender occurred after the U.S. nuclear-bomb attacks on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August of 1945 and the Soviet Union's declaration of war on Japan on 8 August.
The U.S. occupation of Japan formally ended in 1952 and the country went on to become one of America's closest allies.
(AFP/BBC)
See RFE/RL's dedicated webpage World War II: 60 Years After"