Japanese occupation of the Philippines

Japanese-occupied Philippines 日本のフィリピン占領 (Japanese) Nihon no Firipin senryō (Romaji) Pananakop ng mga Hapones sa Pilipinas (Filipino)
1941–1945
Flag of the Empire of Japan and Flag of the Philippines Imperial Seal of Japan
Motto: Hakkō ichiu (八紘一宇)
Anthem: Kimigayo Lupang Hinirang (unofficial)
The former American-occupied Philippines (dark red) within the Empire of Japan (light red) at its furthest extent
Status	Military occupation by the Empire of Japan
Capital	Manila
Common languages	Japanese, Filipino
Emperor
• 1942–1945	Hirohito
Historical era	World War II
• Start of Japanese Invasion	December 8 1941
• Formation of Hukbalahap	March 29, 1942
• Fall of Bataan	April 9, 1942
• Bataan Death March	April 9–17, 1942
• Fall of Corregidor	May 6, 1942
• Comfort Women system	1942–1945
• Establishment of the Second Philippine Republic[a]	October 14, 1943
• Allied Liberation of the Philippines	October 20, 1944 – August 15, 1945
• Battle of Leyte Gulf	October 20–26, 1944
• Manila Massacre & Battle of Manila	February 3 – March 3, 1945
• Surrender of Japan	September 2, 1945
• Independence proclaimed[b]	July 4, 1946
Currency	Mickey Mouse Money (Japanese government–issued Philippine peso)
Preceded by Succeeded by Commonwealth of the Philippines Philippines campaign (1944–1945)
Today part of	Philippines

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The Japanese occupation of the Philippines (Filipino: Pananakop ng mga Hapones sa Pilipinas; Japanese: 日本のフィリピン占領, romanized: Nihon no Firipin Senryō) occurred between 1942 and 1945, when the Japanese Empire occupied the Commonwealth of the Philippines during World War II.

The invasion of the Philippines started on 8 December 1941, ten hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor. As at Pearl Harbor, American aircraft were severely damaged in the initial Japanese attack. Lacking air cover, the American Asiatic Fleet in the Philippines withdrew to Java on 12 December 1941. General Douglas MacArthur was ordered out, leaving his men at Corregidor on the night of 11 March 1942 for Australia, 4,000 km away. The 76,000 starving and sick American and Filipino defenders in Bataan surrendered on 9 April 1942, and were forced to endure the infamous Bataan Death March on which 7,000–10,000 died or were murdered. The 13,000 survivors on Corregidor surrendered on 6 May.

Japan occupied the Philippines for over three years, until the surrender of Japan. A highly effective guerrilla campaign by Philippine resistance forces controlled sixty percent of the islands, mostly forested and mountainous areas. MacArthur supplied them by submarine and sent reinforcements and officers. The Filipino population remained generally loyal to the United States, partly because of the American guarantee of independence, because of the Japanese mistreatment of Filipinos after the surrender, and because the Japanese had pressed large numbers of Filipinos into work details and put young Filipino women into brothels.^[1]

General MacArthur kept his promise to return to the Philippines on 20 October 1944. The landings on the island of Leyte were accompanied by a force of 700 vessels and 174,000 men. The initial Leyte landing was followed by landings on Mindoro, Luzon and Mindanao. During the campaign, the Imperial Japanese Army conducted a suicidal defense of the islands. Cities such as Manila were reduced to rubble. Around 500,000 Filipinos died during the occupation.^[2]

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