79: V-J Day

 

Today is V-J Day (Victory Over Japan Day) when World War 2 ended for most of the world.

Some celebrate it on August 14th. Some on August 15th (with the Time Difference) and some celebrate it on September 2nd - when the Japanese signed the Surrender Treaty.

One country doesn't celebrate V-J Day and that's Russia.

Russia is still at War with Japanese (they declared War on Japan August 9th (after the US had already dropped both Atomic Bombs and the Japanese were already going to Surrender.)

The Russians only went in at the very end to take control of North Korea, parts of China, parts of Mongolia and the Kuril Islands of Japan.

It is because of the Kuril Islands that Russia and Japan are still "fighting" World War 2 after 79 years - but as we have seen in Ukraine Russia isn't very good at fighting.

The Last Japanese Soldier to surrender and stop fighting World War 2 was Teruo Nakamura on December 18, 1974 in Indonesia (which was a Dutch Colony during the War) where he had been hiding and "fighting" since September 1944.

He was a native of Taiwan (then a Japanese Colony) and didn't speak Japanese, Chinese, Indonesian or English - he only spoke the Amis Language of his People so he was never told Japan Surrendered and the War had been over for 29 years.

Nakamura died in Taiwan in 1979.

The last Ethnically Japanese Soldier to Surrender was Hiroo Onodaon February 20, 1974 in the Philippines (an American Colony during the War) where he had been fighting since December 1944.

Onodaon only Surrendered when he received an Official Military Order from his Former Commander with the Emperor's Signature on it.

Onodaon died in Japan in 2014.