JAPANESE EMISSARIES SIGN PRELIMINARY AGREEMENT IN RANGOON (28/8/1945)

This film is held by the Imperial War Museum (ID: JFU 291).

Synopsis

Japanese envoys sign a preliminary agreement at Government House, Rangoon, Burma.

Interior footage shot from a high point looking down over the hall of Government House. The Japanese emissaries' escort enter the hall followed by the emissaries themselves. They stand behind their chairs. The Allied delegation file in followed by Lieutenant-General Frederick Browning, the Chief of Staff to Lord Louis Mountbatten, Supreme Allied Commander South East Asia Command. The assembled officers take their seats. The agreement is signed and transferred from one table to another. The Japanese officers stand up, bow, and leave the hall. Close-up of the agreement with the phoenix insignia of the Supreme Allied Commander visible along with the signature and seal of Lieutenant-General Takazo Numata, Chief of Staff to Field Marshal Count Terauchi.

Notes

Historical context: The Japanese government surrendered unconditionally on 15 August and formally surrendered on 2 September 1945, these being the 'Tokyo terms' that Browning refers to in his opening address.

The agreement signed here was a preliminary step ordering local Japanese commanders to obey the instructions of Allied occupation forces. This facilitated the Recovery of Allied Prisoners of War and Internees, a process known as RAPWI. It also required the Japanese to keep order in the territories they occupied, to remove minefields or other obstacles, to allow Allied reconnaissance flights and so on.

A variety of other coverage of this occasion is available, shot by both RAF (ABY-series) and British Army (JFU-series) cameramen.

 

Titles

  • JAPANESE EMISSARIES SIGN PRELIMINARY AGREEMENT IN RANGOON (28/8/1945) (Allocated)
Series Title:
BRITISH ARMY OPERATIONS IN SOUTH EAST ASIA DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR
 

Technical Data

Year:
1945
Running Time:
3 minutes
Film Gauge (Format):
35mm
Colour:
B&W
Sound:
Silent
Footage:
227 ft
 

Production Credits

Production Countries:
GB
Sponsor
War Office Directorate of Public Relations
cameraman.
Watson, W (Sergeant)
Production company
SEAC Film Unit
 

Countries

 

Production Organisations