Japanese Micronesians

Japanese Micronesians (Japanese: 日系ミクロネシア人, Hepburn: Nikkei Mikuroneshia-jin), also Nikkei Micronesians or Micronesians of Japanese descent, refers to citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) who are of Japanese descent and are members of the Japanese global diaspora known as the Nikkei (日系).

Japanese settlement in what constitutes the present-day FSM dates back to the end of the 19th century, when Japanese traders and explorers settled on the central and eastern Caroline Islands, although earlier contacts cannot be completely excluded. After Japan occupied the islands in 1914, Japanese migrated to the Carolines on a large scale in the 1920s and 1930s. The Japanese government encouraged immigration to the islands belonging to the South Seas Mandate in order to offset demographic and economic problems facing Japan at that time.

The earliest immigrants operated as traders, although most of the later settlers worked as fishermen, farmers or conscript labourers. The majority of immigrants settled in Pohnpei and Chuuk, while other islands were home for only a few Japanese. The total Japanese population reached about 100,000 by 1945. The Japanese immigrants in the central and eastern Carolines were Japanese, Okinawans, and a few Koreans. The settlers brought the Shinto and Buddhist religions to the islands, although such practices did not become popular with indigenous people. By 1945, the Japanese language had replaced Micronesian languages in day-to-day communications.

Ethnic relations between the Japanese (settlers and civil officers) and the Micronesians were initially cordial and intermarriage between the Japanese and Micronesians was encouraged. However, relations soured as the Japanese administration implemented policies that favoured the Japanese populace and showed insensitivity to Micronesian cultural norms. After the Japanese surrender in 1945, virtually all Japanese were repatriated to Japan. People of mixed Japanese and Micronesian descent were allowed to remain, and most of them chose to do so. Many of them assumed leading roles in the political, public and business sectors after World War II; they constitute a large minority within the FSM itself.

Micronesia began to engage with Japan once again in the business and cultural spheres from the 1970s. Two years after the FSM became an independent country, the FSM and Japan established formal diplomatic ties.