Japanese settlement in the Marshall Islands

Japanese settlement in the Marshall Islands
President Amata Kabua
President Kessai Note
Total population
70 (2007)[1][fn 1]
Regions with significant populations
Jaluit, Kwajalein
Languages
Marshallese, English, Japanese
Religion
Protestantism;[2] Shintoism and Buddhism
Related ethnic groups
Micronesians, Japanese, Okinawan

Japanese settlement in the Marshall Islands was spurred on by Japanese trade in the Pacific region. The first Japanese explorers arrived in the Marshall Islands in the late 19th century, although permanent settlements were not established until the 1920s. As compared to other Micronesian islands in the South Seas Mandate, there were fewer Japanese who settled in the islands. After the Japanese surrender in 1945, the Japanese populace were repatriated to Japan, although people of mixed Japanese–Marshallese heritage remained behind. They form a sizeable minority in the Marshall Islands' populace, and are well represented in the corporate, public and political sectors in the country.[3]

  1. ^ 第5回　太平洋・島サミット開催！[permanent dead link‍], Plaza for International Cooperation, Official Development Assistance, Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan. Retrieved October 17, 2009.
  2. ^ Marshall Islands, CIA World Factbook. Retrieved October 5, 2009.
  3. ^ Crocombe (2007), p. 103


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