Remembrance Day in Nauru Date in the current year: June 29, 2026

Nauru is a small island nation in the Pacific Ocean. First settled by Micronesians thousands of years ago, Nauru was annexed by the German Empire due to its rich phosphate deposits and became a German colony in the late 19th century. Following Germany’s defeat in World War I, Nauru was administered by Australia as a League of Nations mandate territory, with the United Kingdom and New Zealand serving as co-trustees.

During World War II, the Japanese occupied Nauru to build up their military defenses in the region and exploit its phosphate deposits. The first Japanese attempt to invade Nauru occurred in May 1942, but the United States Navy thwarted it. A second invasion force departed from the Truk archipelago (present-day Chuuk, Micronesia) on August 26 and successfully occupied the island.

The Japanese detained the members of the Australian administration who remained on Nauru and appointed Timothy Detudamo, the head chief of Nauru, as governor. However, Detudamo had no real authority and was forced to take and carry out orders from the Japanese. The Japanese occupation wasn’t particularly brutal at first, but that changed in the summer of 1943. By then, the occupiers had established a large garrison and brought more than 1,500 Japanese and Korean workers to Nauru. This resulted in the 1,848 Nauruans being outnumbered on their own island. To prevent food shortages on the blockaded island, the Japanese decided to deport Nauruans to Truk.

The first group of 600 Nauruans, including Detudamo, was deported on June 29, 1943. On July 11, the Japanese placed 39 lepers on a fishing boat, towed it out to sea, and opened fire on it. A new group of 601 Nauruans, accompanied by two Catholic priests who had remained on the island, was deported to Truk on August 6. The rest of the native population was scheduled to be deported on September 11, but the Americans destroyed the boat intended for them, thus preventing the Japanese from completing their plan of deporting all the Nauruans.

The exiled Nauruans were settled on various islands in the Truk archipelago. They were forced to work for the Japanese and faced food shortages and a complete lack of medical care. The Nauruans who remained on the island also faced food shortages.

Japan announced its surrender on August 15, 1945, and formally capitulated on September 2. The Australian contingent tasked with overseeing the Japanese withdrawal from Nauru landed on September 13, marking the end of the occupation. However, the Nauruans exiled to Truk were seemingly forgotten by the Allies. They were finally repatriated in January 1946. By that time, more than 400 deported Nauruans had died from starvation and illness, leaving fewer than 800 to return home.

June 29 was designated Remembrance Day in Nauru in 2025. On this day, Nauruans pay their respects to those who suffered and died during the occupation, as well as recognize the resilience of those who survived the war and helped rebuild the nation. Remembrance Day is marked by a memorial service held at the war monument on Aiue Boulevard in the Aiwo district, which includes a wreath-laying ceremony, a minute of silence, and a prayer of remembrance.