After the battle Hostile_encounter , Allied forces Military_operation continued to expand Expansion their beachhead on Bougainville with the goal of constructing airfields to attack Attack and neutralize Japanese forces Military_operation located at Rabaul and nearby areas .

During the second phase , lasting from late 1942 until the Japanese surrender Surrendering , the Allies—consisting primarily of Australian and US forces—cleared the Japanese first from Papua , then the Mandate and finally from the Dutch colony .

During the second phase , lasting from late 1942 until the Japanese surrender Surrendering , the Allies—consisting primarily of Australian and US forces—cleared the Japanese first from Papua , then the Mandate and finally from the Dutch colony .

As in most Pacific War campaigns Military_operation , disease and starvation claimed Statement more Japanese lives than enemy action .

Most Japanese troops never even came Self_motion into contact Connect with Allied forces , and were instead simply cut off Removing and subjected to an effective blockade by the US Navy .

Garrisons were effectively besieged Besieging and denied Agree_or_refuse_to_act shipments of food and medical supplies , and as a result , some claim Statement that 97 % of Japanese deaths Death in this campaign were from non-combat causes Causation .

The tsunami swept the Japanese mainland and killed Killing over ten thousand people , mainly through drowning Bodily_harm , though blunt trauma also caused Causation many deaths Death .

The latest report from the Japanese National Police Agency report confirms and across twenty prefectures , and a report from 2015 indicated Statement 228,863 people were still living away from their home in either temporary housing Building or due Causation to permanent relocation .

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Telling , `` In the 65 years after the end of World War II , this is the toughest Confronting_problem and the most difficult crisis Catastrophe for Japan . ''

Despite the vulnerability of Japanese cities to firebombing attacks Attack , the firefighting services Assistance lacked training and equipment , and few air raid Attack shelters were constructed Building for civilians .

The Allied bombing Attack campaign Military_operation was one of the main factors which influenced Influence the Japanese government 's decision Deciding to surrender Surrendering in mid-August 1945 .

However , there has been a long-running debate Quarreling over the morality of the attacks Attack on Japanese cities , and the use Using of atomic weapons is particularly controversial .

The most commonly cited Adducing estimate of Japanese casualties Catastrophe from the raids Attack is 333,000 killed Killing and 473,000 wounded Bodily_harm .

On that day , 242 Japanese aircraft , in two separate raids Attack , attacked Attack the town , ships in Darwin 's harbour and the town 's two airfields in an attempt to prevent Preventing_or_letting the Allies from using Using them as bases to contest Military_operation the invasion Attack of Timor and Java during World War Military_operation II .

Darwin was lightly defended Defending relative to the size of the attack Attack , and the Japanese inflicted Bodily_harm heavy losses Earnings_and_losses upon Allied forces Causation at little cost Cost to themselves .

The two Japanese air raids Attack were the first , and largest , of more than 100 air raids Attack against Australia during 1942–43 .

When Changsha fell Change_of_leadership to the Imperial Japanese Army on June 19 , 1944 , Hengyang became Becoming their next target Aiming .

The city was an important railroad junction Connect and Hengyang Airport was used Using by USAAC General Claire Lee Chennault 's Flying Motion Tigers which were engaged in bombing Attack operations of the Japanese homeland .

On June 22 , Japanese 68th and 116th divisions received Receiving their orders Request to attack Attack the city and to take Conquering it within 2 days , which started Process_start the 48 days of siege Besieging and defense Defending .

The Drive Self_motion on Munda Point was an offensive Attack by mainly United States Army forces Hostile_encounter against Imperial Japanese forces Hostile_encounter on New Georgia in the Solomon Islands from 2–17 July 1943 .

The Japanese forces Hostile_encounter , mainly from the Imperial Japanese Army , were guarding Defending an airfield at Munda Point on New Georgia that the U.S. wished to capture Conquering .

The Japanese forces Hostile_encounter , mainly from the Imperial Japanese Army , were guarding Defending an airfield at Munda Point on New Georgia that the U.S. wished to capture Conquering .

The U.S. offensive Attack made Getting small gains Earnings_and_losses because of limited Limiting combat Hostile_encounter experience by its soldiers , poor leadership by inexperienced US Army officers , harsh terrain and conditions on New Georgia , and effective defensive Defending measures by the Japanese .

The drive Motion on Munda was halted Process_end on 17 July when the Japanese launched Process_start a large , ultimately unsuccessful , counterattack Attack on the American forces Hostile_encounter .

The New Britain campaign was a World War II campaign Military_operation fought Hostile_encounter between Allied and Imperial Japanese forces .

The campaign was initiated Process_start by the Allies in late 1943 as part of a major offensive which aimed Aiming to neutralise Destroying the important Japanese base at Rabaul , the capital of New Britain , and was conducted Action in two phases between December 1943 and the end of the war Hostile_encounter in August 1945 .

In October 1944 , the Australian 5th Division took over Military_operation from the US troops and undertook Action a Landing Self_motion at Jacquinot Bay the following month , before beginning Process_start a limited Limiting offensive to secure a defensive line across the island between Wide Bay and Open Bay behind which they contained Containing the numerically superior Japanese forces for the remainder of the war .

The Japanese regarded the New Britain Campaign as a delaying action , and kept Temporary_stay their forces concentrated Aiming around Rabaul in expectation of a ground assault Attack which never came Action .

The Japanese forestalled Preventing_or_letting them by launching their own offensive into India , and this offensive became Becoming larger in scope than originally intended .

By the end Process_end of the year , the Allies had achieved Achieve significant territorial gains Getting only in one sector , the extreme north-east of Burma , but the Japanese attack Attack on India had been defeated Earnings_and_losses with very heavy casualties .

This handicapped Hindering the Japanese attempts to defend Defending Burma against renewed Allied offensives in the following year .

On 11 September , it engaged the Japanese soldiers at Jensen 's Plantation .

After defeating Conquering them , it engaged and defeated Conquering a larger Japanese force at Heath 's Plantation .

The Japanese Army elected Choosing not to fight Hostile_encounter for Lae , preferring instead to withdraw Escaping over the Saruwaged Range .

This proved Coming_to_believe to be a gruelling test of endurance for the Japanese soldiers who had to struggle Confronting_problem over the rugged mountains ; in the end , the Japanese Army managed to withdraw Escaping its forces from Salamaua and Lae , though with extensive losses Earnings_and_losses from exposure and starvation during the retreat Escaping .

This proved Coming_to_believe to be a gruelling test of endurance for the Japanese soldiers who had to struggle Confronting_problem over the rugged mountains ; in the end , the Japanese Army managed to withdraw Escaping its forces from Salamaua and Lae , though with extensive losses Earnings_and_losses from exposure and starvation during the retreat Escaping .

The Indian Ocean raid Attack ( known in Japan as Operation C ) was a naval sortie carried out Action by the Imperial Japanese Navy ( IJN ) from 31 March to 10 April 1942 .

Japanese aircraft carriers under Admiral Chūichi Nagumo struck Attack Allied shipping and naval bases around Ceylon , but failed to locate Placing and destroy Destroying the British Eastern Fleet .

The Eastern Fleet , commanded Control by Admiral Sir James Somerville , was forewarned Warning by intelligence and sailed Self_motion from its bases prior to the raid ; its attempt to attack Attack the Japanese was frustrated by poor tactical intelligence .

Following the attack Attack the British expected a major Japanese offensive Attack in the Indian Ocean .

However , the Japanese had no short-term plans to follow Self_motion up on their success Earnings_and_losses , and within the year operations in the Pacific made it Causation impossible to do so .

In late May and early June 1942 , during World War II , submarines belonging to the Imperial Japanese Navy made a series of attacks Attack on the cities of Sydney and Newcastle in New South Wales , Australia .

Immediately following the raid Military_operation , the five Japanese fleet submarines that carried Carry_goods the midget submarines to Australia embarked Process_start on a campaign Military_operation to disrupt Hindering merchant shipping in eastern Australian waters .

The physical effects Influence were slight : the Japanese had intended to destroy Destroying several major warships , but sank Motion_directional only an unarmed depot ship and failed to damage Damaging any significant targets during the bombardments Attack .

The main impact Influence was psychological ; creating Creating popular fear of an impending Japanese invasion Military_operation and forcing Request the Australian military to upgrade Cause_to_make_progress defences , including the commencement of convoy operations Military_operation to protect Defending merchant shipping .

After the Japanese invasion Attack of French Indochina in September 1940 , the French were forced to allow Preventing_or_letting Japan to set up Building military bases .

The plan called Request for Imperial Japanese Navy troops to capture Conquering Tulagi and nearby islands in the British Solomon Islands Protectorate .

The occupation Control of Tulagi by the Japanese was intended to cover Hiding_objects the flank of and provide Supply reconnaissance support Supporting for Japanese forces that were advancing Self_motion on Port Moresby in New Guinea , provide Supply greater defensive depth for the major Japanese base at Rabaul , and serve Assistance as a base for Japanese forces to threaten and interdict the supply and communication routes between the United States and Australia and New Zealand .

The occupation Control of Tulagi by the Japanese was intended to cover Hiding_objects the flank of and provide Supply reconnaissance support Supporting for Japanese forces that were advancing Self_motion on Port Moresby in New Guinea , provide Supply greater defensive depth for the major Japanese base at Rabaul , and serve Assistance as a base for Japanese forces to threaten and interdict the supply and communication routes between the United States and Australia and New Zealand .

The occupation Control of Tulagi by the Japanese was intended to cover Hiding_objects the flank of and provide Supply reconnaissance support Supporting for Japanese forces that were advancing Self_motion on Port Moresby in New Guinea , provide Supply greater defensive depth for the major Japanese base at Rabaul , and serve Assistance as a base for Japanese forces to threaten and interdict the supply and communication routes between the United States and Australia and New Zealand .