Jaluit Atoll
Following the initial Japanese occupation of the islands, a policy of secrecy was adopted. Japan made it plain that it did not welcome the entry of foreign ships into Micronesian waters, even those of its wartime allies. During the first five years that Japan occupied the islands, it consolidated its presence and the islands became a virtual Japanese colony. The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) divided the territory into five naval districts in Palau, Saipan, Truk, Ponape and Jaluit Atoll, all reporting to a rear admiral at the naval headquarters at Truk.