Throughout New Zealand rule, it was holy writ that Wellington had been a superior master of its mandate than had Japan been over Micronesia. Wrong as it was, it remains persistent decades later. Micronesian historian Francis X Hezel points out that the Micronesian islands under Japanese rule were self-supporting, a level of economic independence never reached during the US colonial period after World War Two, or even since independence in the mid-1980s. Sugar cane plantations on Saipan, Tinian and Rota brought in large revenues. Tuna fishing, which dried the fish and turned it into tuna shavings or katsuobushi at factories on Chuuk, Pohnpei, Palau and Saipan were profitable. A Jesuit priest, Hezel said under Japanese rule, Micronesians made gains in public education and religion. Japanese authorities established the first public school system, and offered three years of basic education for all islanders who lived within walking distance of one of the 24 public schools built across the region. Hezel said islanders missed the Japanese era in the post-war years.
‘When I first came in 1963, Micronesians expressed their fondness for food (ramen, sushi, etc.) and their nostalgia for the ‘old days’ of their Japanese schooling (including the strict discipline). On my first visit to Palau, I heard popular songs with Japanese-like melodies. Japanese names seemed to be everywhere,’ Hezel said.
In Sāmoa, soon after war’s end, US correspondent Marc T Greene reported that New Zealanders believed everything in Sāmoa ran smoothly. This was not the case as New Zealanders had gained neither the confidence nor the respect of the Sāmoans:
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