The Japanisation policy for the Chamorros of Guam, 1941–1944

This article examines the major features of the Japanisation policy used to rule the Chamorro people of Guam during the 31-month Japanese military occupation of the island. The efforts at Japanisation were viewed as a means of bringing about the unification of the races and cultures of Asia and attempted to achieve political, economic and racial unification with Japan and obedience to Japan. The most aggressive method for implementing the Japanisation policy on Guam was through schooling. However, the worsening conditions of the war forced schools to close in early 1944, and this led to the introduction of harsher methods of social change via agriculture and airfield labour battalions. The Japanisation policy that Japan attempted to put in place during its occupation of Guam was intended to put Chamorros in the same group as the other races ruled by Japan. The policy was a typical example of Japanese military rule, but it did not bear any fruit on Guam because of the short period of military presence and the pervasiveness of 40 years of American influence.