Japanese air attacks on the Mariana Islands 27 in preparation for operations against Japan itself. The USAAF bases in the Mariana Islands were within range of a number of Japanese air bases in the Pacific. These included Wake Island to the east, Truk and the Gilbert and Marshall Islands to the southeast, Woleai to the south and Yap to the southwest. To the north the Japanese had air bases in the Nampo Shoto chain of islands and Bonin Islands, which included three airstrips on Iwo Jima. Several of the minor islands in the Mariana chain also remained in Japanese hands, and there were airfields on Rota and
Buka Island ago. Buka Island was occupied by Japanese troops during World War II, and it was the site of important Japanese airfields that had to be neutralized. Although the island was bombed by allied air forces and warships, allied armies never fought in Buka. After holding out for years on poor supplies, the Japanese surrendered in 1945 when allied troops were approaching the Selau peninsula on nearby Bougainville. The economy of Buka can be divided into a very small urban component and the village sector. The village sector is characterised by subsistence farming, primarily of sweet potato as a staple food,