Today, their descendants make up around 200 of Chichijima’s 2,000 residents, while others are scattered from Guam to Hawaii and the mainland United States. The original settlers were forced to become naturalized Japanese citizens — although they were never fully accepted by the Japanese state. The Japanese, Western and Polynesian settlers lived together peacefully and even intermarried until World War II. Eventually, though, the United States gave in to repeated Japanese demands to return the islands to its rule. ADFor the islanders, identity and language has shifted from generation to generation, as Japan and the United States have each claimed the community for their own geostrategic convenience.

Source: Washington Post August 19, 2020 09:02 UTC