Japanese settlement in Kiribati

Japanese presence in Kiribati dates back to the end of 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, when labourers were hired to work in Kiribati's phosphate mines. The migration of some workers and labourers from Okinawa was seen as early as 1860 and the Meiji era. As compared to the other Micronesian countries which came under Japanese rule in the first half of the 20th century, the majority of the Japanese consisted of transient workers and only a few settled in Kiribati. Since Kiribati became independent in 1978, a few Japanese have also taken permanent residence in Kiribati, and assumed important positions within Gilbertese society.

History

The first Japanese to install in the Gilbert Islands was Nito Atō (1856-1923). He was from Okinawa and worked for William Mackenzie, a Scottish trader in Arorae. He married the daughter of the trader, Melissa Nito.

The first Japanese were brought to Ocean Island to work as mechanics at the direction of the Pacific Phosphate Company in 1905. Japanese labourers were also brought from the early 1910s onwards as the company faced work problems from Gilbertese and Chinese workers. Japanese traders from the South Seas Trading Company (Nanyo Boeki Kaisha) also began to visit the Gilbert Islands at the start of World War I. The British colonial administration permitted the trading company to establish a branch store at Butaritari in 1915, but were prohibited to engage in trade in the other parts of the Gilbert or Ellice Islands.