VJ Day, also known as Victory over Japan Day, marked the end of World War Two and triggered jubilant celebrations across the globe as the Allies achieved their long-awaited triumph over Japan.
Ed Westcott / US Army / Manhattan Engineer District – Ed Westcott / American Museum of Science and Energy, Public Domain
On August 15th, 1945 the Emperor of Japan, Hirohito, announced to the people of Japan that the Empire of Japan was going to accept the U.S. terms of surrender. This marked the end of the war in the Pacific and the end of World War II. Here are 3 interesting facts about VJ Day that many people are not aware of.
Generally speaking, there are 3 interesting facts about VJ Day that many people are not aware of. First, Japan did not formally surrender to the United States until September 2nd. Second, President Truman did not want VJ Day to be August 15th but instead wanted to wait to proclaim the date until after the formal surrender. Third, while the Empire of Japan surrendered to the Allied forces on September 2nd, 1945 it was not until 1951 that a peace treaty was signed between Japan and the Allied countries.
Fact 1: While VJ Day is August 15th Japan Did Not Surrender Until The 2nd of September
One of the most common misconceptions of Victory over Japan Day is that on August 15th the Empire of Japan surrendered to the United States. This was not the case and it was not until 18 days later on September 2nd that Japan formally signed the surrender treaty aboard a U.S. Destroyer in the harbor of Tokyo.
So why do we recognize Victory over Japan Day as August 15th then? Well, this is because when the Japanese Emperor Hirohito announced to the Japanese People that his government was going to accept the surrender terms he did so by holding a radio broadcast. The day before a special wire was sent to the United States by the Japanese Delegation announcing their intent to surrender.
This wire was given to U.S. President Truman who on the 14th of August made the announcement over public radio that the Empire of Japan had just announced its intent to surrender to the United States sometime in the coming days. Truman stated that the U.S. people would have to wait until the formal surrender to announce a VJ Day.
As you might expect as soon as this message was broadcasted the world began to celebrate. The costliest war in human history was over and now people could return home. Several iconic photographs were taken over the coming hours as people poured out onto the street and celebrated the end of World War II.
Fact 2: Truman Did Not Want VJ Day to Be August 15th But Rather September 2nd
Truman made the announcement that Japan intended to surrender on the 14th of August when he received the newswire from Japan. However, Truman cautioned against celebrating prematurely and wanted to wait until the Empire of Japan formally surrendered 18 days later.
In the official memo released by the White House Truman states “As President of the United States, I proclaim Sunday, September the second, 1945, to be VJ Day–the day of formal surrender by Japan.” However, the people of the United States had already been celebrating since the official announcement nearly 18 days earlier.
Truman’s desire to have VJ day be September the 2nd never caught on. Instead, the people of the United States declared that V-J day be August 15th and well it has stuck ever since. Still, it is a pretty cool fact that VJ day actually has two dates; the first date of the 15th and the second when Japan formally surrendered.
Fact 3: While Japan Surendered On September 2nd, 1945 An Official Peace Treaty Was Not Signed Until 6 Years Later in 1951
Believe it or not two treaties need to be signed to restore peaceful relations between two nations after a war; a treaty ending the hostilities and a treaty officially declaring peace between the two powers.
Japan surrendered to the United States and the Allies on September 2nd, 1945 but it was not until September 8th, 1951 that the official peace treaty was signed by Japan officially restore peaceful relations with the rest of the world.
This treaty is called the Treaty of San Fransisco and it officially declared the nation of Japan to be on peaceful terms with all nations except China and Korea due to difficulty at that time of the UN being undecided on which political entity controlled those respective nations.
As such, if you want to impress some people at a party you could always say that while the war was over in 1945 it was not until 1951 that peace was restored. In theory, the Empire of Japan could have continued to engage in hostilities around the Pacific up until the Treaty of San Fransisco in 1951.
Sources:
This article was written by guest contributor Nicklaus Bobertz. He holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in History from the University of Central Florida. He is also the owner, operator, and writer for the history website TheHistoryAce.com.
Cite This Article
"VJ Day: Remembering the End of World War II in the Pacific" History on the Net© 2000-2024, Salem Media.
May 5, 2024 <https://www.historyonthenet.com/vj-day-remembering-the-end-of-world-war-ii-in-the-pacific>
More Citation Information.
