Japanese air attacks on the Mariana Islands and anti-aircraft guns shot down about 37 Japanese aircraft during these raids. After the Marianas began to come under attack, the United States military stepped up its raids on the Japanese-held islands which could be used to launch raids on the B-29 bases. Particular attention was given to Iwo Jima, as it was correctly assumed that the Japanese aircraft which attacked the Marianas were flying from Japan and staging through the island en route to their targets. Following the first raid against Saipan in November, XXI Bomber Command B-29s were dispatched against Iwo Jima's airfields on November 5 and 8.
Japanese settlement in the Marshall Islands much more frequent. Japanese songs such as "Masaharu Gunto" were written in the 1930s and reflected of romantic associations between Japanese men and Marshallese women. Ethnic suspicion and hatred by the Marshallese against the Japanese settlers developed during the Second World War, as the Japanese civilian government placed increased emphasis on militarism and forcibly conscripted many Marshallese to menial labour during the Second World War. Shortly before the end of the war, a few Marshallese led independent and isolated attacks against Japanese military personnel wherever possible. Japanese settlement in the Marshall Islands Japanese settlement in the Marshall Islands was spurred