Japanese civilians in the Eastern Branch are evacuated to Japan, though about 5,600 Japanese remain on Ponape at war’s end.

What happened

As the war turned against Japan, women and children of Japanese and Okinawan settler families were sent back to Japan and Okinawa, some on ships that were attacked on the way. JACAR’s own figure of about 5,600 Japanese on Pohnpei at war’s end sits uneasily with the evacuation report.