Japanese occupation of Guam

The Battle of Guam in 1941 was an engagement during the Pacific War in World War II which took place on 8 December 1941 on Guam in the Mariana Islands between the Japanese and Allied forces. During the battle, the USS Penguin (AM-33) was scuttled after shooting down a Japanese plane. Naval Governor of Guam George McMillin surrendered to the Japanese forces around 7:00 a.m. on 10 December 1941, ceding control of the island.[1]

During the occupation period, Chamorros were forced to endure the hardships of the military occupation. For the first four months, the island was controlled by army troops, who were housed in schools and government buildings in Agana. Specifically, Commander Hayashi Horace, who was one of the military leaders during the Japanese invasion in December made the Agana's former Governor's palace as the headquarter for the kenpeitai.

Japan intended to maintain Guam as a permanent territory beyond the war and thus invested resources, by way of teachers and education supplies, to launch the campaign of their Japanization policy. The goal was to bring the indigenous Chamorro people into the Japanese nation through total assimilation of Japanese culture and ideology. The task was at first thought to be a swift and easy one, as the population of Guam was small; however, these Japanization efforts later faced difficulty, supposedly due to the Americanization of the Chamorros during the prior 40 years under US control.[2] Chamorros were required to learn the Japanese custom of bowing, Japanese yen became the island's currency, and civilian affairs were handled by a branch of the army called the Minseibu. Cars, radios, and cameras were confiscated and food was rationed until supplies became exhausted.

Control of the island came under the Imperial Japanese Navy in March 1942. The keibitai, as it was known, governed the populace for about 19 months. Chamorros were allowed to remain on their farms and trade for products they needed. Social activities including parties, Japanese movies, and sports competitions were allowed. Mass meetings were held in Agana to reinforce the "Nippon Seishin" (spirit of Japan). Schools were reopened and Chamorros were required to learn the Japanese language and customs, with English being forbidden. Adults and children were taught reading, writing, math, and Japanese games and songs.

Before Japanese occupation, Guam's economy was semi-self-sufficient through the exportation of copra. However, the economy was deeply impacted by the war and the Japanese occupation caused further damage through setting a low exchange rate of US dollars to the Japanese yen. There was also unreasonable seizure of assets, destruction of homes, and shortage of food and other necessities for the locals. Chamorros' labor was also exploited through Japanese-led land development and fortifications. The Japanese military also occupied land that was essential to the agriculture and the economy of Guam.

By early 1944, Japan's war efforts were failing. With an American invasion threatening, the Japanese Army returned to Guam, bringing with it a new, stricter form of government, the kaikontai. Social activities were terminated, schools were closed, and Chamorro men, women, and children over the age of 12 were forced to work long hours in the fields, repair or build airstrips and defense installations, and dig hundreds of Japanese cave shelters, many of which are within the boundaries of War in the Pacific National Historical Park on Guam. Chamorros, laboring at bayonet point, were mistreated and, in some cases, executed after completing defense installations. Without warning, 10,000–15,000 Chamorros of all ages were forced to march, with only the belongings they could carry to camps in Guam's central and southern jungles. With inadequate shelter, minimal food, and no sanitary facilities, life in these camps was miserable. Despite hardships, however, incarceration proved to be a blessing in disguise for those who survived the camps, as had they not been moved, many Chamorros would have been killed by the American bombs and Japanese cross fire.

As a result of the end of the Japanese occupation, Guam celebrates with a yearly Liberation Day on 21 July. The island also holds a procession on 8 December; this also commemorates the day of the Japanese attack. On this day, people gather in Hagatna and watch parades and have carnivals. The results of the Japanese military occupation led to strong anti-Japanese views from the Chamorros that continued until late 1960s. A majority of the hostility was directed at the Japanese residents in Guam. Many were expelled to either Japan or Saipan and some were even tried in court. The impacts of the war are still seen today, through the unpaid war reparation claims. Due to the Treaty of Peace with Japan, Guam is unable to ask Japan to pay the war claims, instead seeking reparations from the US.

Since June 2006, the US Congress, the House Judiciary Committee, and the Department of Justice have worked together to approve a bill for Chamorro war reparations. Within the Department of Justice's Foreign Claims Settlement Commission, the Guam Claims Program[4] is still actively looking at cases and providing compensations for Guam victims.

• War in the Pacific National Historical Park near to Asan, Guam
• Plaza de Espana - Hagatna, Guam
• Caves and Jails in Tutuhan Park - Hagatna, Guam

• Japanese holdout

• WAPA – The Occupation of Guam
• Department of Justice - Guam Claims Program