Large-scale Japanese settlement in Micronesia occurred in the first half of the 20th century when

Imperial Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...

colonised much of

Micronesia Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of approximately 2,000 small islands in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: Maritime Southeast Asia to the west, Poly ...

. Between 1914 and 1945, the modern-day Micronesian territories of the

Northern Mariana Islands The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), is an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territory and Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States consistin ...

, the

Federated States of Micronesia The Federated States of Micronesia (, abbreviated FSM), or simply Micronesia, is an island country in Micronesia, a region of Oceania. The federation encompasses the majority of the Caroline Islands (excluding Palau) and consists of four Admin ...

Palau Palau, officially the Republic of Palau, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific Ocean. The Republic of Palau consists of approximately 340 islands and is the western part of the Caroline Islands ...

and the

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands, is an island country west of the International Date Line and north of the equator in the Micronesia region of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. The territory consists of 29 c ...

were part of the Japanese-governed,

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

-created

South Seas Mandate The South Seas Mandate, officially the Mandate for the German Possessions in the Pacific Ocean Lying North of the Equator, was a League of Nations mandate in the " South Seas" given to the Empire of Japan by the League of Nations following W ...

, known in Japan as ''Nan'yō''. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the Japanese settlers outnumbered the

Micronesians The Micronesians or Micronesian peoples are various closely related ethnic groups native to Micronesia, a region of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. They are a part of the Austronesian ethnolinguistic group, which has an Urheimat in Taiwan. Eth ...

within the mandate territory and extensively intermarried with Micronesians, raising families locally. A few Japanese also resided in

Kiribati Kiribati, officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the central Pacific Ocean. Its permanent population is over 119,000 as of the 2020 census, and more than half live on Tarawa. The st ...

and

Nauru Nauru, officially the Republic of Nauru, formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country and microstate in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies within the Micronesia subregion of Oceania, with its nearest neighbour being Banaba (part of ...

, where they worked as contract labourers or established businesses. After 1945, most of the Japanese settlers were repatriated to Japan, but the offspring of Japanese settlers and Micronesians were allowed to remain. These offspring usually identify themselves as Micronesians rather than Japanese, and constitute a sizeable minority in each of the territories' populace.Foundation for Advanced Studies in International Development (Japan)
, Kimio Fujita, October 7, 2005 Archeological excavations have revealed that

lived on the island of

Chichijima is the largest and most populous islands of Japan, island in the Japanese archipelago of Bonin Islands, Bonin or Ogasawara Islands. Chichijima is about north of Iwo Jima. in size, the island is home to about 2,120 people (2021). Connected to ...

(one of the Japanese

Bonin Islands The Bonin Islands, also known as the , is a list of islands of Japan, Japanese archipelago of over 30 subtropical and Island#Tropical islands, tropical islands located around SSE of Tokyo and northwest of Guam. The group as a whole has a total ...

) in the past.小笠原・火山(硫黄)列島の歴史
/ref>

Main articles

* Federated States of Micronesia:

Japanese settlement in the Federated States of Micronesia Japanese Micronesians (Japanese: 日系ミクロネシア人, Hepburn: ''Nikkei Mikuroneshia-jin''), also Nikkei Micronesians or Micronesians of Japanese descent, refers to citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) who are of Japanes ...

* Kiribati: Japanese settlement in Kiribati * Marshall Islands: Japanese settlement in the Marshall Islands * Palau:

Japanese settlement in Palau There is a small Japanese community in the Pacific Island country of Palau, which mainly consists of Japanese expatriates residing in Palau over a long-term basis. A few Japanese expatriates started to reside in Palau after it gained independence ...

References

Bibliography

* Crocombe, R. G., ''Asia in the Pacific Islands: Replacing the West'', 2007, * Kiste, Robert C.; Marshall, Mac, ''American Anthropology in Micronesia: An Assessment'', University of Hawaii Press, 1999, * McQuarrie, Peter, ''Conflict in Kiribati: A History of the Second World War'', Macmillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies, University of Canterbury, 2000, * Poyer, Lin; Falgout, Suzanne; Carucci, Laurence Marshall, ''The Typhoon of War: Micronesian Experiences of the Pacific War'', University of Hawaii Press, 2001,

History of Micronesia Japanese colonial empire

Settlement schemes in Oceania {{Japan-stub

Main articles

See also

References

Bibliography