Japanese holdouts or stragglers (Japanese: 残留日本兵 Zanryū nipponhei, “remaining Japanese soldiers”) were Japanese soldiers in the Pacific Theatre who, after the August 1945 surrender of Japan ending World War II, either adamantly doubted the veracity of the formal surrender due to strong dogmatic or militaristic principles, or simply were not aware of it because communications had been cut off by the United States island hopping campaign.
They continued to fight the enemy forces, and later local police, for years after the war was over. Some Japanese holdouts volunteered in the Vietnamese Independence war and Indonesian Independence war to free Asian colonies from Western control, which had been one of Imperial Japan’s alleged goals during World War II.
Intelligence officer Hiroo Onoda, who was relieved of duty by his former commanding officer on Lubang Island in the Philippines in March 1974, and Teruo Nakamura, who was stationed on MorotaiIsland in Indonesia and surrendered in December 1974, were the last confirmed holdouts, though rumors persisted of others.
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