Japanese settlement in the Marshall Islands Japanese settlement in the Marshall Islands Japanese settlement in the Marshall Islands was spurred on by Japanese trade in the Pacific region. The first Japanese explorers arrived in the Marshall Islands in the late 19th century, although permanent settlements were not established until the 1920s. As compared to other Micronesian islands in the South Pacific Mandate, there were fewer Japanese who settled in the islands. After the Japanese surrender in 1945, the Japanese populace were repatriated to Japan, although people of mixed Japanese–Marshallese heritage remained behind. They form a sizeable minority in the Marshall Islands' populace, and are well represented
Human rights in the Marshall Islands Marshall Island project which was completed in 2010, aimed at enabling Marshallese women to fully participate in democratic processes and address gender imbalance at all levels of decision-making. Human rights in the Marshall Islands have been violated, particularly as a result of US nuclear testing. During the Cold War, the Marshall Islands was used as a testing site for the US's expanding nuclear arsenal. For instance, between 1946 and 1958, 67 nuclear tests were conducted at the islands. The Castle Bravo test of March 1954 is particularly poignant because it released thirty times more radioactive iodine than the 2011 Fukushima