Christmas Island Archives has an original Japanese WW2 magazine – Shashin Shuho (写真周报) (Photo News Weekly), vol.2, no. 22, 13 May 1942. The Photo News Weekly, was a Japanese pictorial magazine published during the Japanese occupation.
A two-page spread depicts the Japanese occupation of Christmas Island. The Japanese landed on the island on Tuesday, 31 March 1942, and these photographs were most likely taken that same day. With the exception of one other known image, they are believed to be the only photographs taken on the island during the occupation.
Click on the image to enlarge.
The following is a translation of the article titles and text accompanying the photos by the magazine’s former Japanese owner.
Main Title – The entire island is covered with chemical fertilizers.
Sub title – Occupation of Christmas Island
Description written below the top right hand photo – Navy forces gaining wealth from clearing the island.
Article written below top right hand photo – It may not have been a gift from Christmas Island, but it was in late March that the small British island called Christmas Island raised its white flag and surrendered to the bombardment of Japanese naval ships.
This island, which appears on maps as about the size of a sesame seed and standing alone south of Java, is about a quarter the size of Syonan Island [Singapore] and is made entirely of limestone.
The reason why Christmas Island is attracting so much attention from the public, even though it is a small island, is because it has an inexhaustible supply of phosphate rock (the raw material for phosphate fertilizer), which is essential as fertilizer.
After landing, our navy immediately recognized the island’s value, and with the cooperation of the islanders, they began mining phosphate rock and were busy shipping it to the mainland in order to supply the mainland with as much high-quality phosphate fertilizer as possible, which was suffering from a fertilizer shortage.
Main photo of jetty – Approximately 1,500 tons of phosphate mined on Christmas Island were shipped with the cooperation of island residents.
Bottom right photo – Phosphate rock deposits are exposed all over the island. There is fertilizer. Even inland, cheers from the landing troops can be heard.
Bottom middle photo – There it is! There it is! A mountain of phosphate rock
Bottom left photo – Captain 〇〇 preaches the true meaning of the Greater East Asia War to the Chinese, Indians, and Indonesians on the island.
Text below that – Photo by Saeki, Navy Press Team Member
Explore Further
- Read more historic Christmas Island WW2 newspaper articles and stories.
- To discover WW2 and Japanese artefacts and other historical finds from Christmas Island, visit the Christmas Island Virtual Museum.