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Solomon Islands ソロモン諸島 Soromon-shotō
1941–1945
Flag of the Empire of Japan Imperial Seal
Status	Military occupation by theEmpire of Japan
Common languages	Japanese Pijin
Historical era	World War II
• Occupation of Solomon	9 December 1941
• Battle of Guadalcanal begins	7 August 1942
• Occupation ends	8 September 1945
Preceded by Succeeded by British Solomon Islands Territory of New Guinea British Solomon Islands Territory of New Guinea
Today part of	Solomon Islands andBougainville

TheJapanese occupation of the Solomon Islands was the period in thehistory of Solomon Islands between 1942 and 1945 whenImperial Japanese forces occupiedSolomon Islands duringWorld War II.

From 1942 to 1943, and even in some islands till 1945,Imperial Japanese Army forces occupied theSolomon Islands where were the headquarters of the protectorate of theBritish Solomon Islands.

TheSolomon Islands campaign was a major campaign of the Pacific War ofWorld War II. The campaign began with Japanese landings and occupation of several areas in theBritish Solomon Islands andBougainville Island, in theTerritory of New Guinea, during the first six months of 1942. The Japanese occupied these islands and began the construction of several naval and air bases with the goals of protecting the flank of the Japanese offensive inNew Guinea, establishing a security barrier for the major Japanese base atRabaul onNew Britain, and providing bases for interdicting supply lines.^[1][2]

These islands were part of the AustralianTerritory of New Guinea, aLeague of Nations mandate since 1920. Anchoring its defensive positions in theSouth Pacific was the major Japanese army and navy base atRabaul,New Britain, which had beencaptured from the Australians in January 1942. In March and April, Japanese forces occupied and began constructing an airfield atBuka Island in northern Bougainville, as well as an airfield and naval base atBuin, in southern Bougainville.^[3]

Both commanding theSeventeenth Army, from Bougainville:

• 1942–1945:Harukichi Hyakutake (b. 1888 – d. 1947)
• 1945 – 5 Sep 1945:Masatane Kanda (b. 1890 – d. 1983)

— Kanda surrendered Japanese forces onBougainville Island to Allied commanders on 8 September 1945.

• • Japanese occupation ends on theSolomon Islands in September 1945.

• Pacific Islands home front during World War II.
• Solomon Islands campaign
• Japanese government–issued Oceanian pound

• Australian War Memorial."Secondary Bibliography by Author"(Bibliography of Japanese-language sources).Australia-Japan Research Project. Retrieved6 November 2008.
• Crawford, John (1992).New Zealand's Pacific frontline: Guadalcanal-Solomon Islands Campaign, 1942–45. New Zealand Defence Force.ISBN 0-473-01537-4.
• Hungerford, T. A. G. (1952).The Ridge and the River. Sydney: Angus & Robertson. Republished by Penguin, 1992;ISBN 0-14-300174-4.
• Kwai, Anna Annie (2017).Solomon Islanders in World War II: An Indigenous Perspective. Canberra: Australian National University Press.ISBN 9781760461669.

• Solomon Islands in World War II
• Campaigns of World War II
• Pacific Ocean theater of World War II
• South West Pacific theatre of World War II
• Conflicts in 1942
• Conflicts in 1943
• Conflicts in 1944
• Conflicts in 1945
• 1942 in the Solomon Islands
• 1943 in the Solomon Islands
• 1944 in the Solomon Islands
• 1945 in the Solomon Islands
• Battles and operations of World War II involving the Solomon Islands
• Battles and operations of World War II involving Australia
• Battles and operations of World War II involving Papua New Guinea
• Campaigns, operations and battles of World War II involving the United Kingdom
• Japanese military occupations
• Military history of the British Empire and Commonwealth in World War II
• Axis powers

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