General Order No. 1 for the surrender of Japan was prepared by the United StatesJoint Chiefs of Staff and approved byPresidentHarry Truman on August 17, 1945.
It was issued by GeneralDouglas MacArthur to the representative of theEmpire of Japan following thesurrender of Japan, and then issued by JapaneseImperial General Headquarters to the forces of the Empire of Japan on 2 September 1945.[1] It instructed Japanese forces to surrender to designatedAllied commanders, reveal all current military deployments, and preserve military equipment for laterdisarmament.[2] It also specified theoccupation of Japan and Japanese-controlled areas by forces of the Allied Powers.
It also led to the eventualdivision of Korea at the38th Parallel in that Japanese forces to the north of this parallel were ordered to surrender to the Commander in Chief ofSoviet Forces in the Far East, and those to the south were directed to surrender to the Commander in Chief,U.S. Army Forces in the Pacific, in accordance with Section 1, paragraphs (b) and (e), respectively.
General order No.1 (Enclosure), as approved by the President for issue by the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters by direction of the Emperor, is circulated for information.
