Annual Report On The Administration Of The South Sea Islands Under Japanese Mandate For The Year

For centuries, the Marshall Islands have been drawn into international politics, primarily because of their central location in Oceania. After World War II they came into the American sphere as part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. At the outset of the Cold War, the Marshalls were a site for nuclear tests and later for the U.S. Army's ballistic missile testing as part of President Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative. This book focuses on the islanders' tenacious negotiations for independence and control of their land, accomplished as the Republic of the Marshall Islands in a Compact of Free Association with the U.S. The creation of American policy in the Pacific was a struggle between the U.S. departments of the Interior and State, and the military's goals for strategic national defense, as illustrated by the case of the Army's base at Kwajalein Atoll.

During World War II, Guam was the only American territory where Japan "administered" the occupied local people. "Organic integration" was the purpose and goal of the Japanese Navy's two and a half year administration of the local Chamorro people, but the navy's attempts failed before U.S. reinvasion in July 1944. By emphasizing the extent of Japan's Mandate in Micronesia, this book examines the Japanese Navy's social, economic, and cultural approaches to "organic integration." Using abundant primary data, the author gives a clear and verifiable picture of the whole occupation period and the Japanese ruling ideology for not only Guam but the entire region--and finds new ways to consider just why Japan went to war. Personal testimonies and documents are included to illustrate the Japanese mentality of war as it unfolded.