Japanese South Sea mandate

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Flag of the mandate
Mandate area.

The Japanese South Sea Mandate ( Japanese 南洋 群島 Nan'yō guntō , German 'South Sea Archipelago' ) was a territory that existed from 1919 to 1944 and was entrusted to the Japanese Empire by the League of Nations . It was a so-called " C-Mandate ", whereby the Micronesian island areas of the Caroline Islands , the Marshall Islands and the Northern Mariana Islands were allowed to be governed under Japanese law. However, it was not allowed to build military installations.

After the Mandate territory was conquered by the Allies during the Pacific War in 1944, the islands were under the control of the United States Navy until they were handed over to the United States in trust as the Pacific Islands Trust Territory in 1947 .

Official building of the Nan'yō-chō.

The civil administrative seat ( 南洋 庁 Nan'yō-chō , German , South Sea Office ' ) was located in the city of Koror on Palau .

history

Micronesia on a German Map (before 1914)

In 1914 the Japanese Empire declared war on the German Empire on the side of the Entente . After the surrender of German New Guinea on September 17, 1914 to the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force , the Japanese occupied the German colonies in Micronesia between September 29 and October 21, 1914, with the exception of Nauru .

On May 7, 1919, the mandate powers were announced. The conditions were not to raise any military troops, not to set up any military bases and to submit an annual report to the Permanent Mandate Commission of the League of Nations founded in 1921 .

In 1933 the Japanese Empire withdrew from the League of Nations, which also rendered all obligations of the mandate power to the League of Nations obsolete. However, annual reports were submitted to the Mandate Commission until 1937. From the 1930s the mandate area was militarized and on December 8, 1941 the Pacific War began.

administration

The natives did not become Japanese citizens , but had the status of "residents of the islands" ( 鳥 民 tomin ). Women could only become full citizens by marrying a Japanese man. Men could practically never meet the hurdle for a 5-year main residence on the main Japanese islands.
Military exercises became mandatory in 1941.

Ministries in Tokyo

Until 1922, the island was under military administration, which exercised the Ministry of Navy. Then the civilian Nan'yō-chō was created at the Prime Minister’s office . Since December 1924 this was a department of the Colonial Ministry ( Takamu-sho ). Transport and postal issues were coordinated with the relevant ministries. The internal structure has been changed several times.

An ordinance issued in 1923, which was changed in 1933, regulated which Japanese laws were also applicable in the mandate area. Special regulations were issued to resolve disputes between natives and land issues. There were also restrictions on alcohol and weapons.

On November 1, 1942, the "Greater Asia Ministry" ( 大 東 亜 省 Daitōashō ) was founded, which was responsible for the areas of the Japanese sphere of influence that were not under military administration. It was headed by the Foreign Minister in personal union. The so-called "Southern Seas Office" was responsible not only for the mandate, but also for French Indochina and Thailand . It took over the appropriate staff of the colonial
ministry, among other things , Mizuno Itarō (* 1896) was the first head of the South Seas Department.

Cladding on site

At the top was a governor, whose official title was "Director" ( 南洋 庁 長官 ). The first governor, already in the interim administration since 1918, was Tezuka Toshirō ( 手塚 敏 郎 ), who held office until April 1924. He was followed by Yokota Gosuke ( 横 田 郷 助 ), who died in office in 1931.

Since 1922

Initially, the governor had the following departments:

  • Secretariat: for general, non-public affairs and statistics
  • Interior: local administration and police
  • Finances: budget and public works
From December 1924
  • Secretariat, divided into non-public matters in 1935, also responsible for careers, medals and decorations, ceremonies, etc. as well as the archive, which has also published the official journal since 1937. 1937-41 with research department.
  • traffic
  • colonization
  • police
  • Finances
  • General
  • Independent authorities:
    • Judiciary: Courts of 1st instance in Saipan, Ponape (incl. Truk and Jaluit) and Palau (incl. Jap). 1 Court of Appeal in Koror.
    • Weather service
    • Post, with 7 post offices. Telephone service since 1927, but only for official use (1937: 19 devices on Truk, 24 in Ponape).
    • 7 state hospitals
    • Mining (primarily phosphate or guano )
    • Industrial-agricultural test station in Koror, branches in Saipan and Ponape
    • 17 primary schools (3 + 2 years) for natives. For Japanese 4 (3 in Ponape) elementary schools (6 + 2 years), plus 2 branch schools
    • from 1929 (port) building authority on Saipan
    • from 1929 museum in Koror
    • from 1931 fishing experimental station in Koror

In the few larger towns that had a significant Japanese population (e.g. Dublon , Colony-Ponape ), local councils with 12-24 volunteer members were elected for four years each in 1932. The mayor elected from among them received a low salary.

The chiefs regulated minor crimes and legal disputes according to their traditional, regionally different competencies. The local vice governor was also the police judge for minor offenses (max. 3 months imprisonment or ¥ 100). The most common crimes were theft and alcohol prohibition violation among the natives. Japanese were mainly charged with illegal gambling, negligent intoxication and violations of various points of the trade regulations.

The radio station JPK, licensed in 1939, has broadcast in the shortwave range since 1942 on Lele, where it was housed in the police station. The large JPT and the small JPD, JPE, JPH and JPL broadcast on Truk.

As of 1941

(Positions in brackets: senior (g), middle (m) and simple (e) service)

Governor was 1940-3 Kondō Shunsuke ( 近藤 駿 介 ) he was followed in early November 1943 by Admiral Hosogaya Boshirō ( 細 萱 戊子 郎 ) who was deported to this post because of cowardice in front of the enemy .

  • Secretariat (posts: 66, of which 13g / 13m / 40e)
  • Inner (107, 10g / 49m / 48e). Departments: Local affairs and planning, finances, taxes, police (including fire and health police), public buildings (including hospitals).
  • Economic development (= colonization; 129, 17h / 60m / 52e). Departments: traffic, postal services, fisheries, trade and industry (including customs, calibration, chambers of commerce, control of the Nan'yō Kōhatsu ), forestry and agriculture.
  • Courts (23, 11h / 7m / 5e)
  • 6 local authorities (366, 7h / 119m / 240e): each under a deputy governor, on the larger islands: Saipan, Palau, Jap , Ponape , Truk , Jaluit . From 1943 combined into only three: North (Saipan), South (on Truk, with Ponape and Jaluit), West (Palau). Local chiefs or village heads remained subordinate.
  • independent authorities, responsible to the governor, as in 1924.

economy

From the beginning Japan aimed for economic development and the creation of conditions so that part of its population surplus could be settled. Mostly unskilled workers came from Okinawa and, in my opinion, Korea. More highly qualified people mostly came from the main islands.

The shipping companies Nippon Yūsen and Nan'yo Boeki were subsidized. The first had connections from Japan to the large Mandate Islands, the second went to the smaller islands. Trade trips by the natives in their ocean-going boats were prohibited from 1928.

In 1937 the main export products were: sugar , phosphates , tuna and copra . From 1921 a sugar industry developed on Saipan , which in the following years expanded to other islands of the Mariana Islands. Saipan and the neighboring island of Tinian were already largely covered by sugar cane, sugar mills, railways and sugar distilleries (Saipan to about 70%) at the beginning of the 1930s. With a share of around 60%, the cultivation and processing of sugar cane was by far the main export item of the South Sea mandate and a main attraction for further immigration from Japan. Phosphate was the second most important source of income for the South Sea mandate. The mining of phosphate on the islands of Angaur , Peleliu , Babelthuap and Fais was expanded after the rights were bought in 1914 by the German South Sea Phosphate Society. The phosphate was used as a component of fertilizer in the cultivation areas of Japan and later as a component of ammunition and explosives. Copra, on the other hand, was produced in all archipelagos of the South Sea mandate. Since coconut palms grow on almost every South Sea island, it was easy to do profitable business here by employing the locals who were used to them. There were hundreds of copra collection points scattered across the archipelagos - around 70 in the Marshall Islands alone. Other export items were tuna and pearls.

Policy towards the Micronesians

The indigenous population of the South Sea mandate, here collectively called Micronesians, should, according to the obligations of the League of Nations, like those in mandates supervised by other states, be civilized and brought up to date. This should be done by a developed nation, in this case Japan, which could raise the resources for such a project. The well-being of the Micronesians should be ensured in any case.

religion

The Japanese mandate administration initially guaranteed free religious practice in the 1920s, including the approval of foreign Christian missionary efforts. Libzeller and Catholic clergy were allowed to enter again in the 1920s.

Missions of the Buddhist Higashi Hongan-ji and Tenrikyō were also allowed, while those of Shintoism received explicit support. However, only one such shrine was built for the Japanese, the Hachiman-jinsha in Saipan. However, these groups primarily took care of the Japanese who immigrated to the main islands in the 1930s. By contrast, from 1931 and even more after the beginning of the China incident, the mandate administration's actions became increasingly restrictive towards foreign Christian missions.

Nan'yo Dendo Dan

In order to continue to proselytize the natives, the government chose the Japanese branch of the Puritan Congregationalists ( 会 衆 派 教会 ), an almost insignificant sect in Japan with 156 congregations in 1933, 193 preachers and 24,974 followers. The government paid for ninety percent of the activities of the South Seas Mission ( Nan'yo Dendo Dan ). The missionaries received salaries three times the average wage.

In 1920 the first four missionaries were sent to Micronesia, two each to Truk and Ponape. Four more followed over the years.

In 1941 a preacher's school was set up in U , which was run by a son-in-law of one of the missionaries.

Population Policy and Health

The Japanese administration took over areas in which the native population had already been severely decimated, mainly due to disease, alcohol abuse and falling birth rates. The mandate administration built modern hospitals on the larger islands, carried out vaccination campaigns and medical training programs. However, the best hospitals, for example, were built where many Japanese immigrants settled and were not free, so the new hospitals primarily benefited the immigrants. Although the health policy of the Mandate administration recovered the Micronesian population, the mortality rate was still significantly higher than that of immigrant Japanese. In addition, some Micronesians, especially on Yap , opposed Japanese health policy because their actions destroyed their social structure and way of life.

population
year Natives Chamorros Japanese Foreigners Total
1920 21424 2 1026 11 22463
1930 23318 83 1438 * 43 25882
1935 24030 52 4464 54 28600
1937 24156 103 6289 * 68 30616

Japanese immigration was concentrated in Ponape, Truk and Saipan with Tinian .

* ) Other sources give significantly higher numbers 1) Japanese for 1930: 19850 and 1935: 55948. 2) 1934: 50174 natives, 35238 Japanese, 98 foreigners. As of October 1, 1935: Total: 102,238.

Educational policy

The Japanese administration introduced compulsory schooling for only three years, which could be followed by a possible two-year advanced course. However, almost half of this school time was spent on learning the Japanese language, as mastering it was considered particularly important. However, the short school years combined with the complexity of the Japanese script meant that the vast majority of Micronesians could never use Japanese for their benefit. There were no lessons in native languages ​​such as Chamorro or Carolinian . Other school subjects such as mathematics played a comparatively small role. A higher education was not available for Micronesians, there was only a carpenter's school in Koror . Schooling, with its focus on obedience, hard work, frugality, and the lack of formal education, was geared towards training Micronesians to become people at the bottom of society. Two to three highly talented natives received scholarships for secondary schools in Japan each year.

After attending state schools became compulsory in 1935, the last of the mission schools, whose “curriculum” had mainly extended to Bible studies in native languages, closed. From 1939 onwards, the seminary of the Boston Mission on Kusaie (founded in 1886) remained active. There were also elementary schools of the Liebenzeller Mission and the Jesuits in the 1930s (2 schools in Truk).

literature

  • Clyde, Paul Hibbert [1896-1998]; Japan's Pacific mandate; New York 1935; [American historian, toured Ponape and Truk in 1934 at the invitation of the government]
  • Coultas, William F .; Whitney South Sea Expedition - Journal and letters ; Typoscript 1930-5
  • Dietzel, Karl-Heinz; The Japanese South Sea Mandate; Berlin 1934. [Reprint from: the Kolonialen Rundschau (26th year) issue 3/4, Aug./Oct. 1934.]
  • Ono Keiko [et. al]; A Study of Urban Morphology of Japanese Colonial Towns in Nan'Yo Gunto Part 1: Garapan, Tinian and Chalan Kanoa in Northern Marianas ;日本 建築 学会 計画 系 論文集, No. 556 (2002), Part 2: Koror, 2002; Part 4: Natsujima, Truk islands Part 5: Ponape, Yap and Jaluit branch districts; No. 676 (2012)
  • Peattie, Mark R .; Nan'yō. The Rise and Fall of the Japanese in Micronesia. 1885-1945 Honolulu HI 1988 (University of Hawaii Press); ISBN 0-8248-1087-2 ; Sert .: Pacific Islands Monograph Series 4
  • 田中 栄 子 [Tanaka Sakaeko; Missionary daughter]; 優 し い ま な ざ し: ポ ナ ペ 島 宣 敎 二十 五年 [ Yasashii manazashi: ponapetō bekyō nijūgonen ]; Tokyo 1980 (ポ ナ ペ 宣 敎 記錄 発 行 委員会)
  • US Office of Naval Operations; Civil Affairs Handbook: East Caroline Islands; Washington 1944 (Navy Department); Sert .: OPNAV P22-5, 1944-02-21
  • US Office of Naval Operations; Civil Affairs Handbook : administrative organization and personnel of the Japanese mandated islands; Washington 1944 (Navy Department); Sert .: OPNAV 50E-4, 1944-01-01
  • 矢 內 原 忠 [Yanahira Tadao, 1893-1961]; 南洋 群島 の 硏 究; Tōkyō 1938, ²1941 (岩 波 書店), reprint in: 日本 植 民 地 統治 論. 植 民 地 再 分割 問題. 南洋 に お け る 帝國 の 権 利; Tōkyō 2013 (ク レ ス 出版), ISBN 9784877337780 ; engl .: Pacific islands under Japanese mandate; London 1940, reprint: New York 1977 (AMS)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hermann Joseph Hiery : The First World War and the End of German Influence in the South Seas (page II) ( Memento from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ).
  2. ↑ biblio-archive.unog.ch: Mandates Section
  3. ↑ Hermann Joseph Hiery: The First World War and the end of German influence in the South Seas (page V) ( Memento from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ).
  4. ↑ a b c section after: Civil Affairs Handbook ...; 1944, ch. 21: Government, p. 59 ff.
  5. ↑ Further: 小 林茂子; 1930 年代 後 半 南洋 群島 に お け る 公 学校 教育 の 果 た す 役 割; 移民 研究 年報, 23 (2017), pp. 95-106. ["Education of Kogakko (public schools) in Nan'yo Gunto (the South Seas) in the late 1930s"]
  6. ↑ Further information: 永田 憲 史; 南洋 群島 の 刑事 司法制度 ; 關 西 大學 法學 論 集 61 (2011), No. 4, pp. 1166-48. [“Criminal Justice System in Pacific Islands under Japanese Mandate”]
  7. ↑ Without simple typists, auxiliary police officers etc. Higher service = 奏 任 sonin ; middle service: hannin (also called "officials and clerks" 官吏 ) and simple service, the yōnin. Designations according to [1] . Occupations in personal union occurred.
  8. ^ Phosphate mining on the island of Fais
  9. ^ Mark R. Peattie: Nan'yō. The Rise and Fall of the Japanese in Micronesia. 1885-1945 (= Pacific Islands Monograph Series. 4). University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu HI 1988, ISBN 0-8248-1087-2 , pp. 123-133.
  10. ^ Peattie, Mark R .; Nan'yō. The Rise and Fall of the Japanese in Micronesia. 1885-1945 (= Pacific Islands Monograph Series. 4). University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu HI 1988, ISBN 0-8248-1087-2 , p. 138.
  11. ↑ a b c d Peattie, Mark R. Nan'yō ...; Pp. 81-95.
  12. ↑ Further: 渡邊 千秋; 日本 占領 下 の 「南洋 群島」 と 日本 カ ト リ ッ ク 教会 ; 青山 国際 政 経 論 集, 101 (2018), pp. 159-174. [“Catholic Church and Micronesian Islands under Imperial Japan's Mandate”]
  13. ^ Ramming, M .; Japan Manual; Berlin 1941, p. 94. Associated with Dōshisha University .
  14. ↑ Section after: Lee Eun-ja [李恩子]; Rethinking the Relationship between Christianity and Colonialism: Nan'yo Dendo Dan, the Japanese Christian Mission to Micronesia from 1920 to 1942; 2012.
  15. ↑ Iwamoto, H .; Japanese Southward Expansion in the South Seas and its Relations with Japanese Settlers in Papua and New Guinea, 1919-1940; South Pacific Study, Vol. 17 (1996), No. 1, p. 40.
  16. ^ Ramming, M .; Japan Manual; Berlin 1941, p. 565.
  17. ↑ Further: 祖慶寿 子; 南洋 群島 國語 讀本 の 分析 ; Vol. 20 (2019), No. 1. [“Analysis of Japanese Language Textbook in the South Pacific”]

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