Japanese holdout

After Japan officially surrendered at the end of World War II, Japanese holdouts in Southeast Asia and the Pacific islands that had been part of the Japanese Empire continued to fight local police, government forces, and Allied troops stationed to assist the newly formed governments.

In 1981, a Diet of Japan committee mentioned newspaper reports that holdouts were still living in the forest on Vella Lavella in the Solomon Islands.

[24] The last report taken seriously by Japanese officials took place in May 2005, when two elderly men emerged from the jungle in the Philippines claiming to be ex-soldiers.

These reports are connected to scams tied to wealth, such as the alleged location of Yamashita's gold and M資金 [ja] (The M Fund).

[29] It is unknown how many or if any legitimate Japanese holdouts remain today, but after over three quarters of a century since the end of the war, harsh jungle terrain, and equatorial climates, it is highly unlikely that any are still alive.

Japanese holdout soldiers still occupying the city of Bukittinggi , after the Surrender of Japan and the Proclamation of Indonesian Independence
Lieutenant Hiroo Onoda in 1944 while on Lubang Island, Philippines before becoming a Japanese holdout.
Sergeant Shoichi Yokoi was discovered on Guam on 24 January 1972, almost 28 years after the Allies had regained control of the island in 1944.
Second Lieutenant Sakae Ōba , a Japanese holdout, photo from 1937.