Japanese repatriation from Huludao


The Japanese repatriation from Huludao refers to sending back to Japan the Japanese people who were left in Northeast China after the end of World War II in 1945. In this operation, done by the American forces' ships under the auspices of the Republic of China government, over one million Japanese were carried back to their homeland, from 1946 to 1948.

The Post-War Status of the Japanese in China's Northeast Region

Immediately after the Soviet invasion of Manchuria in August 1945, about 1.5 million Japanese people were left in China. The majority were in what was formerly Manchukuo, mostly farmers and merchants. Some of the able-bodied men among them were being sent by the Soviet forces to Siberia for forced labor. Engineers and medical doctors were beginning to be asked for cooperation by the Chinese Communist forces.

Activities Leading to the Repatriation

The Japanese government did almost nothing for this population in the confusion after their defeat in the war. Three young men from Anshan volunteered to report the situation to Japan, and met with the Japanese government in Tokyo. They later met with General Douglas MacArthur, then the head of the Allied Occupation Forces, who immediately decided on the Japanese repatriation from Huludao.

Repatriation

The American forces who were assisting the Chinese Nationalist government were aware of this dangerous situation and sent ships on a tripartite operation to:
Huludao in Liaoning Province was the only strategic seaport and corridor to Northeast China that was held by the Nationalist forces, who were battling against the Chinese Communist forces for control of Northeast China.
From May 7, 1946 till August 1948, about 1,050,000 Japanese people were repatriated. Many had died in Harbin, Changchun, Shenyang during the 1945-46 winter before this repatriation began. Those who reached Huludao in the worst conditions and died there were buried in the nearby Cishan mountain, in simple tombs facing east, toward their homeland.

Commemoration

A stele commemorating this event in the Sino-Japanese history stands on the seaport in Huludao. It cannot be easily visited because it is in a restricted area — Huludao is a strategic submarine base in China.