When is Victory Over Japan Day, how is it marked and what happened?
After six years of fighting and genocide which killed between 50 and 85 million people, the worst war in human history suddenly stopped
VICTORY over Japan marked the end of World War Two, after the US dropped nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
But what exactly was VJ Day and what did it mean for those who had endured years of conflict?
When is Victory Over Japan Day?
VJ Day is the day when the initial announcement of Japan’s surrender was made on August 15, 1945.
Instantly the Pacific War ended as in fact did the Second World War since the Victory in Europe (VE Day) happened on May 9 after Germany surrendered following Hitler’s suicide and its capital Berlin falling to the Soviet Union forces.
The surrender documents were finally signed on USS Missouri on September 2, 1945.
The official VJ Day in the UK is on August 15, with the US marking Victory over Japan on September 2.
In Japan the day is known as the "memorial day for the end of the war";.
What happened on VJ Day?
On August 6 and 9, 1945, the US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The Soviet Union also declared war on Japan.
As a result Emperor Hirohito announced Japan's acceptance of the terms of the Potsdam Declaration on August 15 - which outlined the terms of the nation's surrender.
US President Harry S Truman declared the day as Victory over Japan Day, at a White House press conference.
British Prime Minister Clement Atlee confirmed the news in a broadcast saying: “The last of our enemies is laid low.”
The following day King George VI spoke to the country saying: “Our hearts are full to overflowing, as are your own.
"Yet there is not one of us who has experienced this terrible war who does not realise that we shall feel its inevitable consequences long after we have all forgotten our rejoicings today.”
What did people do to celebrate?
Most people in the West who liked a drink and could get hold of one got very merry indeed.
In Britain there were bonfires and street parties, while in barracks and air and navy bases - or on ships - those who were off duty partied.
Historic buildings in London were floodlit and people took to the streets singing, dancing and letting off fireworks.
There was utter relief among all the Allied servicemen and women - and their family and friends - that the invasion of Japan did not have to take place as that would have resulted in many deaths.
In Japan Hirohito blamed the use of “a new and most cruel bomb” for the surrender.
In America, crowds attempted to break into the White House grounds and people took to the streets in New York's Times Square, where a picture was taken of a sailor kissing a woman.
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How is VJ Day marked?
It is still marked throughout the world - although not with the same vigour of the original one.
In both North and South Korea it is called the “the day the light returned” because the peninsula had been occupied by Japan who inflicted horrible brutality on the Koreans.
In the Netherlands - which had Far Eastern colonies - there are remembrance service.
In Britain it is not officially marked each year and the thousands who perished are commemorated on Remembrance Sunday in November.
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