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The Japanese Memorial commemorates Japanese troops who died during the Japanese occupation between 1942 and 1945. Christmas Island was occupied by Japanese troops from March 1942 to the end of World War Two.

From the outbreak of war in South East Asia in December 1941, Christmas Island was a target for Japanese occupation because of its rich phosphate deposits.

On 31 March 1942 , a Japanese fleet of nine vessels arrived and the island was surrendered. A naval brigade, phosphate engineers, and 700 marines came ashore and rounded up the workforce, most of whom had fled to the jungle. Sabotaged equipment was repaired and preparations were made to resume the mining and export of phosphate. Isolated acts of sabotage and the torpedoing of the Nissei Maru at the wharf on 17 November 1942 meant that only small amounts of phosphate were exported to Japan during the occupation.

In November 1943, over 60% of the Island's population was evacuated to Surabayan prison camps, leaving a total population of just under 500 Chinese and Malays and 15 Japanese to survive as best they could. In October 1945 HMS Rother reoccupied Christmas Island.

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