Japanese occupation of the Philippines
Philippines | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1941–1945 | |||||||||
| Motto: 八紘一宇 ("Hakkō ichiu") "Eight Crown Cords, One Roof" | |||||||||
| Anthem: 君が代 ("Kimigayo") "His Majesty's Reign" Lupang Hinirang (unofficial) "Chosen Land" | |||||||||
Philippines (dark red) within the Empire of Japan (light red) at its furthest extent | |||||||||
| Status | Military occupation by the Empire of Japan | ||||||||
| Capital | Manila | ||||||||
| Common languages | Japanese, Filipino | ||||||||
| Emperor | |||||||||
• 1942–1945 | Hirohito | ||||||||
| Military Governor | |||||||||
• 1942 | Masaharu Homma (First) | ||||||||
• 1944–1945 | Tomoyuki Yamashita (Last) | ||||||||
| Leader | |||||||||
• 1942–1943 | Jorge B. Vargas | ||||||||
• 1943–1945 | Jose P. Laurel | ||||||||
| Legislature | Philippine Executive Commission (1942–1943) National Assembly (1943–1945) | ||||||||
| Historical era | World War II | ||||||||
| December 8 1941 | |||||||||
| March 29, 1942 | |||||||||
| April 9, 1942 | |||||||||
| April 9–17, 1942 | |||||||||
| May 6, 1942 | |||||||||
| 1942–1945 | |||||||||
| October 14, 1943 | |||||||||
| October 20, 1944 – August 15, 1945 | |||||||||
| October 20–26, 1944 | |||||||||
| February 3 – March 3, 1945 | |||||||||
| September 2, 1945 | |||||||||
| July 4, 1946 | |||||||||
| Currency | Japanese government–issued Philippine peso | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of | Philippines | ||||||||
The Japanese Empire occupied the Commonwealth of the Philippines between 1942 and 1945 during World War II.
Japan invaded the Philippines on December 8, 1941, ten hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor. As at Pearl Harbor, American aircraft were severely damaged in the initial Japanese attack. Lacking air cover, the American Asiatic Fleet in the Philippines withdrew to Java on 12 December 1941. General Douglas MacArthur was ordered out, leaving his men at Corregidor on the night of 11 March 1942 for Australia, 4,000 km away. The 76,000 starving and sick American and Filipino defenders in Bataan surrendered on 9 April 1942, and were forced to endure the infamous Bataan Death March on which 7,000–10,000 died or were murdered. The 13,000 survivors on Corregidor surrendered on 6 May.
Japan occupied the Philippines for over three years, until the surrender of Japan. A highly effective guerrilla campaign by Philippine resistance forces controlled sixty percent of the islands, mostly forested and mountainous areas. MacArthur supplied them by submarine and sent reinforcements and officers. The Filipino population remained generally loyal to the United States, partly because of the American guarantee of independence, partly because of the Japanese mistreatment of Filipinos after the surrender, and partly because the Japanese had pressed large numbers of Filipinos into work details and put young Filipino women into brothels.
General MacArthur kept his promise to return to the Philippines on 20 October 1944. The landings on the island of Leyte were accompanied by a force of 700 vessels and 174,000 men. The initial Leyte landing was followed by landings on Mindoro, Luzon, and Mindanao. During the campaign, the Imperial Japanese Army conducted a suicidal defense of the islands. Cities such as Manila were reduced to rubble. Around 500,000 Filipinos died during the occupation.