A few questions about Japanese rule in Palau?

Question

Firstly, I don't know that much about Palau, except for the fact it's a soverign island nation with it's own unique culture and heritage. For a long time, it was subject to Japanese rule, and I understand the Japanese during their rule did a lot for the Palauan and development of the nation.

My question is, how have the Japanese left their mark on Palau? If one visits Palau, is there any evidence of Japanese rule to be clearly seen, such as architechture, vehicles, etc? Also, how commonly used is Japanese in Palau as a second language, do many people speak it? Also, are the people, especially the older people influenced by Japanese culture in anyway? Japan is a country with a rigiorous social structure and formailities and this is clear in the Japanese language where the sentence can be very different depending on level of formality. Is there any evidence of this in Palau?

Also, in modern day Palau, how are diplomatic relations with Japan, and also what view do normal Palauan citizens hold of the Japanese? For example, a lot of the ex-British colonies know quite a lot about the UK, and it's whole system. Do Palauans know much about Japan, is it a place they like/would like to visit, in general?

Thanks for any insight.

Answer 1

Spanish rule

Like the Mariana Islands, the Caroline Islands and the Marshall Islands, Palau was part of the Spanish East Indies, and was administered from the Spanish Philippines until the Spanish-American War of 1898.

In 1885, after Germany occupied some of the islands, a dispute was brought to Pope Leo XIII, who made an attempt to legitimize the Spanish claim to the islands (but with economic concessions for Britain and Germany). Spain in 1899, after defeat during the Spanish-American War, sold the islands to Germany in the 1899 German-Spanish Treaty.

German era

After the Spanish sold the islands to Germany, the Germans began an economic transformation in Micronesia. The Germans began mining bauxite (an aluminum ore), Phosphate, and other resources. The islands were also administered by German New Guinea. Mining continued throughout Micronesia even after the Germans lost the islands to Japan under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, after World War I. The Japanese continued and expanded the mining operations.

Japanese rule

During World War I, under the terms of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, the Empire of Japan declared war on the German Empire and invaded German overseas territories in the Pacific Ocean, including the Palau Islands. Following Germany's defeat, the League of Nations formally awarded Palau to Japan as a Class C League of Nations Mandate.

Under the terms of a “Class C Mandate” Japan incorporated the islands as an integral part of its empire, establishing the Nanyo-cho government. Initially under Imperial Japanese Navy administration, civilian control was introduced from 1922, and Palau was one of six administrative districts within the Mandate. Japan mounted an aggressive economic development program and promoted immigration by Japanese, Okinawans and Koreans. During this period, the Japanese established bonito (tuna production) and copra processing plants in Palau.

World War II

Peleliu was the scene of intense fighting between American and Japanese forces beginning September 1944 resulting in an Allied victory, though the cost in human terms was high for both sides. After WWII, the United Nations played a role in deciding the U.S. would administer Palau as part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. Eventually, in 1979, Palauans voted against joining the Federated States of Micronesia based on language and cultural differences. After a long period of transition, including the violent deaths of two presidents (Haruo Remeliik in 1985 and Lazarus Salii in 1988), Palau voted to freely associate with the United States in 1994 while opting to retain independence under the Compact of Free Association.

There are still roughly 100 American service members listed as Missing In Action (MIA) in Palau since WWII. Since 1993, a small group of American volunteers called The BentProp Project have searched the waters and jungles of Palau to attempt to locate information that can lead to the identification and recovery of remains of these American MIAs.