| Victory over Japan Day | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Representatives of the Empire of Japan aboardUSS Missouri at thesurrender of Japan on September 2, 1945 | |
| Also called | V-J Day, Victory in the Pacific Day, V-P Day |
| Date | 15 August 1945 (1945-08-15)[a] 2 September 1945 (1945-09-02) |
| Frequency | Annually |
| Related to | Victory in Europe Day |
Victory over Japan Day (also known asV-J Day,Victory in the Pacific Day, orV-P Day[1]) is the day on whichImperial Japan surrendered inWorld War II, in effect bringing the warto an end. The term has been applied to both of the days on whichthe initial announcement of Japan's surrender was made – 15 August 1945, in Japan, and because of time zone differences, 14 August 1945 (when it was announced in theUnited States and the rest of the Americas and Eastern Pacific Islands) – as well as to 2 September 1945, when thesurrender document was signed, officially ending World War II.
15 August is the official V-J Day for theUnited Kingdom, while the official US commemoration is 2 September.[2] The name, V-J Day, had been selected by the Allies after they namedV-E Day for the victory in Europe.
On 2 September 1945, formal surrender occurred aboard the battleshipUSSMissouri inTokyo Bay. InJapan, August 15 usually is known as the "memorial day for the end of the war" (終戦記念日,Shūsen-kinenbi); the official name for the day, however, is "the day for mourning of war dead and praying for peace" (戦没者を追悼し平和を祈念する日,Senbotsusha wo tsuitōshi heiwa wo kinensuru hi). This official name was adopted in 1982 by anordinance issued by theJapanese government.[3]
Within three months of theend of the war in Europe on May 9 (Moscow time), the USSR would join the Allied fight against Japan, as agreed upon at theYalta Conference in February 1945. On August 8 (Moscow time), theSoviet Union declared war on Japan, and attacked Japanese forces not only in Manchuria on mainland Asia, but also on the Kuril islands and Sakhalin, threatening toattack and occupy Hokkaido. Already on 6 August, and again on 9 August 1945, the United States droppedatomic bombs, on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively, with a "Third Shot" not possible before August 19. The Japanese government on August 10 communicated its intention to surrender under the terms of thePotsdam Declaration, but that was not yet the end of hostilities.
The news of the Japanese offer began early celebrations around the world. Allied soldiers inLondon danced in aconga line onRegent Street. Americans and Frenchmen inParis paraded on theChamps-Élysées singing "Don't Fence Me In". American soldiers inoccupied Berlin shouted "It's over in the Pacific", and hoped that they would now not be transferred there to fight the Japanese. Germans stated that the Japanese were wise enough—unlike themselves—to give up in a hopeless situation, and were grateful that the atomic bomb was not ready in time to be used against them.Moscow newspapers briefly reported on the atomic bombings with no commentary of any kind. While "Russians and foreigners alike could hardly talk about anything else", the Soviet government refused to make any statements on the bombs' implication for politics or science.[4]
InChongqing, Chinese fired firecrackers and "almost buried Americans in gratitude". InManila, residents sang "God Bless America". OnOkinawa, six men were killed and dozens were wounded as American soldiers "took every weapon within reach and started firing into the sky" to celebrate; ships soundedgeneral quarters and firedanti-aircraft guns as their crews believed that akamikaze attack was occurring. OnTinian island,B-29 crews preparing for their next mission over Japan were told that it was cancelled, but that they could not celebrate because it might be rescheduled[4] for a "Third Shot".
A little after noonJapan Standard Time on 15 August 1945,EmperorHirohito'sannouncement of Japan's acceptance of the terms of thePotsdam Declaration was broadcast to the Japanese people over the radio. Earlier the same day, the Japanese government had broadcast an announcement overRadio Tokyo that "acceptance of the Potsdam Proclamation [would be] coming soon", and had advised the Allies of the surrender by sending a cable to U.S. PresidentHarry S Truman via theSwiss diplomatic mission inWashington, D.C.[5] A nationwide broadcast by Truman was aired at seven o'clock p.m. (daylight time inWashington, D.C.) on Tuesday, 14 August, announcing the communication and that the formal event was scheduled for September 2. In his announcement of Japan's surrender on 14 August, Truman said that "the proclamation of V-J Day must wait uponthe formal signing of the surrender terms by Japan".[6]
Since the EuropeanAxis powers had surrendered three months earlier (V-E Day), V-J Day was the effective end ofWorld War II, although a peace treaty between Japan and most of the Allies was not signed until 1952, and between Japan and the Soviet Union until 1956. InAustralia, the nameV-P Day (Victory in the Pacific) was used from the outset. TheCanberra Times of 14 August 1945, refers to V-P Day celebrations, and apublic holiday for V-P Day was gazetted by the government in that year according to theAustralian War Memorial.[7][1]
After news of the Japanese acceptance and before Truman's announcement, civilians began celebrating "as if joy had been rationed and saved up for the three years, eight months and seven days since Sunday, Dec. 7, 1941" (the day of the Japaneseattack on Pearl Harbor),Life magazine reported.[8] InWashington, D.C. a crowd attempted to break into the White House grounds as they shouted "We want Harry!"[9]
InSan Francisco two nude women jumped into a pond at theCivic Center to soldiers' cheers.[8] More seriously, thousands of drunken people, the vast majority of them Navy enlistees who had not served in the war theatre, embarked in what theSan Francisco Chronicle summarized in 2015 as "a three-night orgy of vandalism, looting, assault, robbery, rape and murder" and "the deadliest riots in the city's history", with more than 1,000 people injured, 13 killed, and at least six women raped. None of these acts resulted in serious criminal charges, and no civilian or military official was sanctioned, leading theChronicle to conclude that "the city simply tried to pretend the riots never happened".[10]
The largest crowd in the history ofNew York City'sTimes Square gathered to celebrate.[8] The victory itself was announced by a headline on the "zipper"news ticker atOne Times Square, which read "OFFICIAL *** TRUMAN ANNOUNCES JAPANESE SURRENDER ***"; the six asterisks represented the branches of the U.S. Armed Forces.[11] In theGarment District, workers threw out cloth scraps and ticker tape, leaving a pile five inches deep on the streets. The news of the war's end sparked a "coast-to-coast frenzy of [servicemen] kissing . . . everyone in skirts that happened along," withLife publishing photographs of such kisses in Washington,Kansas City,Los Angeles, andMiami.[8]
![Citizens and workers of Oak Ridge, Tennessee celebrate V-J Day on August 14, 1945[b]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWar_Ends.jpg)
One of the best-known kisses that day appeared inV-J Day in Times Square, one of the most famous photographs ever published byLife. It was shot on August 14, 1945, shortly before the announcement by President Truman occurred and when people were beginning to gather in celebration.Alfred Eisenstaedt went to Times Square to take candid photographs and spotted a sailor who "grabbed something in white. And I stood there, and they kissed. And I snapped four times."[12] The same moment was captured in a very similar photograph by Navy photographerVictor Jorgensen (right), published inthe New York Times.[13] Several people have since claimed to be the sailor or the female, who was long assumed to be a nurse.[14] It has since been established that the woman in the Alfred Eisenstaedt photograph was actually a dental assistant namedGreta Zimmer Friedman, who clarified in a later interview that "I was grabbed by a sailor and it wasn't that much of a kiss, it was more of a jubilant act that he didn't have to go back, I found out later, he was so happy that he did not have to go back to the Pacific where they already had been through the war. And the reason he grabbed someone dressed like a nurse was that he just felt very grateful to nurses who took care of the wounded."[15]
Another famous image is that of theDancing Man inElizabeth Street, Sydney, captured by a press photographer and aMovietonenewsreel. The film and stills from it have taken on iconic status in Australian history and culture as a symbol of victory in the war.[16]
_luisteren_de_Japanse_bevelhebber_kolonel_Kaida_Tatuichi_en_zijn_stafcommandant_majoor_Muiosu_Slioji_aan_dek_van_H_TMnr_10001519.jpg)
On August 15 and 16, some Japanese soldiers, devastated by the surrender, committedsuicide. Well over 100 Americanprisoners of war were also murdered. In addition, many Australian and British prisoners of war were murdered inBorneo, at bothRanau and Sandakan, by the Imperial Japanese Army.[17] AtBatu Lintang camp, also in Borneo,death orders were found which proposed the murder of some 2,000 POWs and civilian internees on September 15, 1945, but the camp was liberated four days before these orders were due to be carried out.[18] Japanese forces remainedin combat with Soviet forces on several fronts for two weeks following V-J Day.
The formal signing of theJapanese Instrument of Surrender took place on board thebattleshipUSS Missouri inTokyo Bay on September 2, 1945, and at that time Truman declared September 2 to be the official V-J Day.[19]
Post war:
On 15 August 1945 Australian Prime Minister Ben Chifley announced on radio that Japan had unconditionally surrendered to allied forces. This day, which has become known as VP Day, was marked with jubilant celebrations across the nation as citizens looked towards a future free of conflict and fear of invasion. To manage celebrations authorities closed pubs, as they had on VE Day. However, this did not dissuade individuals from partying, with crowds gathering in streets and strangers dancing together in city squares.[26]
InAustralia, many use the term "VP Day" in preference to "VJ Day", but in the publicationThe Sixth Year of War in Pictures published byThe Sun News-Pictorial in 1946, the term "VJ Day" is used on pages 250 and 251.[27] Also an Australian Government 50th Anniversary Medal issued in 1995 has "VJ-Day" stamped on it.[28]
Amateur radio operators in Australia hold the "Remembrance Day Contest" on the weekend nearest VP Day, August 15, remembering amateur radio operators who died during World War II and to encourage friendly participation and help improve the operating skills of participants. The contest runs for 24 hours, from 0800UTC on the Saturday, preceded by a broadcast including a speech by a dignitary or notable Australian (such as thePrime Minister of Australia,Governor-General of Australia, or a military leader) and the reading of the names of amateur radio operators who are known to have died. It is organized by theWireless Institute of Australia, with operators in each Australian state contacting operators in other states,New Zealand, andPapua New Guinea. A trophy is awarded to the state that can boast the greatest rate of participation, based on a formula including: number of operators, number of contacts made, and radio frequency bands used.[29]
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As the final official surrender of Japan was accepted aboard the battleshipUSSMissouri inTokyo Bay on September 2, 1945, theNationalist Government of theRepublic of China announced three-day holidays to celebrate V-J Day, starting September 3.[citation needed] Starting from 1946, September 3 was celebrated as "Victory of War of Resistance against Japan Day" (Chinese:抗日戰爭勝利紀念日;pinyin:Kàngrì Zhànzhēng Shènglì Jìniànrì), which evolved into theArmed Forces Day (Chinese:軍人節) in 1955. September 3 is recognized asV-J Day in thePeople's Republic of China.[citation needed]
Hong Kong was handed over by the Imperial Japanese Army to theRoyal Navy on August 30, 1945, and resumed its pre-war status as aBritish dependency. Hong Kong celebrated the "Liberation Day" (Chinese:重光紀念日; Jyutping:cung4 gwong1 gei2 nim3 jat6) on August 30 (later moved to the Saturday preceding the last Monday in August) annually,[30] which was a public holiday before 1997. After thetransfer of sovereignty in 1997, the celebration was moved to the third Monday in August and renamed "Sino-Japanese War Victory Day", the Chinese name of which is literally "Victory of War of Resistance against Japan Day" as in the rest of China, but this day was removed from thelist of public holidays in 1999. In 2014, the Chief Executive's Office announced that a commemoration ceremony would be held on September 3, in line with the "Victory Day of the Chinese people's war of resistance against Japanese aggression" in mainland China.[31]
Theday is celebrated as a public holiday in South Korea,. The day has particular significance to Korea, as it is the day that it was liberated from its status asa colony of the Empire of Japan. In Korea it is referred to asGwangbokjeol, (lit. 'the day the light returned').[32]
Victory over Japan Day is celebrated with duality inMongolia. It also celebrates the victory of Soviet and Mongolian forces in theBattles of Khalkhin Gol. The anniversary of the battle was first celebrated in 1969, and was periodically celebrated on a massive scale every 5 years until its 50th anniversary in 1989, after which it dwindled in importance and was reduced to the level of academic debates and lectures. It was only recently that the anniversary made a resurgence in Mongolian history.[33] It is jointly celebrated by theMongolian Armed Forces with theRussian Armed Forces. During the 70th, 75th and 80th anniversaries in 2009, 2014 and 2019 respectively, thePresident of Russia has taken part in the celebrations alongside thePresident of Mongolia as part of the former'sstate visit to the Mongolian capital.
The Netherlands has one national and several regional or local remembrance services on or around August 15. The national service is at the "Indisch monument" (Dutch for "Indies Monument") inThe Hague, where the victims of theJapanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies are remembered, usually in the presence of the head of state and the government. In total, there are about 20 services, also in the Indies remembrance center inBronbeek inArnhem. The Japanese occupation meant the twilight of Dutch colonial rule overIndonesia.Indonesia declared itself independent on August 17, 1945, just two days after the Japanese surrendered. TheIndonesian War of Independence lasted until 1949, with the Netherlands recognizing Indonesian sovereignty in late December of that year.
On September 2, 1945, the same day as Japan's surrender, Ho Chi Minhdeclared the independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.[34]
In the Philippines, V-J Day is celebrated annually on September 3 and is called the "Surrender of GeneralTomoyuki Yamashita Day".[35]The province ofIfugao has observed every September 2 as "Victory Day", commemorating the valor of Philippine war veterans and the informal surrender of General Yamashita to the joint Filipino-American troops led-by Cpt. Grisham in the municipality of Kiangan on September 2, 1945.[36][37]
It was introduced as a holiday by decree of thePresidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union on September 3, 1945 (the day after the surrender of Japan). The only celebration that was held in the days that followed was aparade of theRed Army inHarbin. In 1945 and 1946, this day was a national holiday. In subsequent years, it became a working day and no celebrations were held on this occasion. In modernRussia, Victory over Japan Day (Russian:День победы над Японией) is considered a memorable date and is celebrated as one of manyDays of Military Honour. In recent years such as in 2017,[38] bills in theState Duma have proposed making it a national holiday.[39][40]
Amilitary parade of theEastern Military District is annually held in the cities ofYuzhno-Sakhalinsk orKhabarovsk, being one of the only parades being held on this day. Parades have also been held on September 2 in thefederal subjects of Russia that celebrate the anniversary of theBattles of Khalkhin Gol, such asBuryatia,Yakutia and theAltai Republic.[41][42] In the breakawayMoldovan-republic ofTransnistria, Victory over Japan Day is jointly celebrated with theirRepublic Day celebrations, which take place on the same day.[43]
Although September 2 is the designated "V-J Day" in the entire United States, the event is not an official federal or state holiday.Rhode Island celebrates the ending of WW2 as "Victory Day",[44] and it is observed on the second Monday of August.
V-J Day was initially commemorated throughout the United States every year on September 2, beginning in 1948, but as the war faded from memory so has the holiday. According toWPRI-TV, the reason for abolishing V-J Day was economic, because workers got a paid day off. There was even a debate over whether or not even Rhode Island would abolish their own Victory Day celebrations. Some towns in various states still celebrate V-J day.Moosup, Connecticut and the village ofHillman, Michigan hold an annual V-J day parade on the 2nd Sunday in August; holding the distinction of being the two oldest continuous parades celebrating V-J day since the actual surrender of the Japanese in 1945. Arkansas was another state to make the holiday official statewide, but it abolished it in 1975.[45]
It was suggested in the 1960s to declare September 2, the anniversary of the end of World War II, as an international holiday to be calledWorld Peace Day. However, when this holiday came to be first celebrated beginning in 1981, it was designated as September 21, the day theGeneral Assembly of theUnited Nations begins its deliberations each year.
This Wikipedia article incorporates text fromVictory in the Pacific rituals (9 October 2022) by Kate Hall published by theState Library of Queensland underCC BYlicence, accessed on 2 February 2023.
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