Timeline

1953	President Elpidio Quirino grants clemency to all 105 Class B/C war criminals held at Muntinlupa Prison (July)
1956	The Philippines deposits its instrument of ratification of the San Francisco Peace Treaty; the Japan-Philippines Reparations Agreement takes effect, under which Japan is to provide goods and services worth $550 million over 20 years. Diplomatic relations are normalized on July 23 of that year.
1958	At the initiative of Kanagawa Governor Iwataro Uchiyama, donations raised in Japan fund the gift of 60,000 bags of cement toward the reconstruction of Manila Cathedral
1960	Philippine Executive Order No. 408 grants visa-free short-term stays to nationals of several countries, including Japan

Postwar Reconciliation: President Quirino’s Clemency and the Normalization of Relations

The greatest turning point in mending relations between defeated Japan and the Philippines was President Elpidio Quirino’s clemency for Japanese war criminals. Quirino himself had suffered the profound tragedy of losing his wife and three children to the Japanese military during the war, yet in July 1953 he granted clemency to all 105 Class B/C war criminals imprisoned at Muntinlupa Prison and allowed their repatriation to Japan. This magnanimous decision became a major step toward mending relations between the two countries.

In connection with Muntinlupa, another notable figure is Priest Shunin Kagao (from Okayama Prefecture, chief priest of Hozoin Temple), who served as a chaplain and stood by the war criminals. Kagao remained at New Bilibid Prison unpaid for four years from 1949, continuing his pleas for clemency. He helped stir public opinion in Japan through the song “Ah, Muntinlupa’s Night Grows Late,” released by singer Hamako Watanabe, based on lyrics written by Ginjiro Shirota (a former Philippine Constabulary second lieutenant) and music composed by Masayasu Ito (a former Army officer), both of whom were themselves among the death-row inmates. Through this effort, Kagao also secured a meeting with President Quirino in May 1953.

President Quirino, upon receiving a music box that played this song and learning that its creators were Japanese war criminals, is said to have arrived at his decision to grant clemency one month after that meeting. Shirota and Ito were both spared execution by this clemency and safely repatriated to Japan. Shirota returned to his hometown of Iida, Nagano Prefecture, and lived until his death in 2006 at age 92; Ito went on to a second career as a Ground Self-Defense Force member and composer, passing away in 2009 at age 86.

Among Japanese residents in the Philippines, too, figures emerged who carried forward grassroots exchange. Kiyoshi Osawa, originally from Gunma Prefecture, had lived in Manila since before the war. Following the Japanese military’s invasion in 1941, he was forced to evacuate to northern Luzon, and after the war he was interned at Muntinlupa before the war’s end.

He later served for many years as the first president of the “Manila Kai,” the organization uniting the Japanese community in the Philippines, and devoted himself to grassroots exchange between the two countries. He became the first private citizen to receive the Philippines-Japan Friendship and Cooperation Award from the Philippines-Japan Friendship Society, was named an honorary citizen of Muntinlupa City, and a monument honoring his achievements was erected there.

Osawa was revered as a symbolic figure of Japan-Philippines friendship until his death in January 2002 at age 96. His advocacy also contributed greatly to exchange between his hometown of Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture, and Muntinlupa City; after years of trainee-exchange programs beginning in 1993, the two cities formalized a sister-city partnership on March 1, 1994.

The monument honoring Osawa stands on the grounds of New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City, and in December 2024 a new monument honoring President Elpidio Quirino was unveiled alongside it. This memorial project was originally conceived by Takeshi Asanuma, chairman of the Philippines-Japan Unification Foundation (PHUF), and was realized under Ambassador Kazuhiko Koshikawa, with Public Affairs and Cultural Center Director Shigehiro Matsuda coordinating with Muntinlupa City and the Philippine Bureau of Corrections. Ambassador Kazuya Endo delivered a speech at the unveiling ceremony, which was attended by Muntinlupa Mayor Bayron and Areli Angela Quirino, President of the Quirino Foundation, whose board includes members of President Quirino’s family. The author also attended the ceremony and served at the reception desk.

Subsequently, on July 23, 1956, the Philippines deposited its instrument of ratification of the San Francisco Peace Treaty, bringing both that treaty and the Japan-Philippines Reparations Agreement into effect. Under this reparations agreement, Japan was to provide the Philippines with goods and services worth a total of $550 million over the following 20 years, and with the simultaneous entry into force of both treaties, Japan and the Philippines formally normalized diplomatic relations. The process of implementing the reparations agreement also became the starting point for Japanese investment and economic cooperation with the Philippines, laying the foundation for postwar Japan-Philippines economic relations.

The Fruits of Postwar Grassroots Exchange: Manila Cathedral and the Takayama Ukon Statue at Plaza Dilao

Postwar reconciliation between Japan and the Philippines was supported not only by government-to-government reparations agreements but also by steady grassroots efforts. One representative example is the reconstruction of Manila Cathedral. To rebuild the cathedral, which had suffered heavy damage in the 1945 Battle of Manila, Kanagawa Governor Iwataro Uchiyama (a former diplomat) led a fundraising campaign in Japan in 1958 and sent 60,000 bags of cement along with funds to the Philippines. It is said that there was also a diplomatic motive at the time — securing the support of the Philippines, then a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, for Japan’s admission to the United Nations. Nevertheless, this assistance, offered amid still-strong resentment over the Japanese occupation, became an important step toward reconciliation between the two peoples.

Another symbolic event was the erection of a statue of Takayama Ukon at “Plaza Dilao” (in the Paco district of Manila), the site of the former Japanese quarter. The plan began in 1973, when the Manila Beautification Committee proposed to Mayor Ramon D. Bagatsing (mayor of Manila from 1971 to 1986) that a monument be erected there honoring the former Christian daimyo Takayama Ukon.

Leading this plan on the Japanese side was Reverend Ryoichi Kato, pastor of Tokyo’s Ikebukuro Church and chairman of the Southeast Asia Cultural Association (SEAFCULA). Reverend Kato, together with Archbishop Seiichi Shirayanagi (Archbishop of Tokyo and President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Japan) as the Catholic representative, sponsored the monument project as a joint undertaking of the Protestant and Catholic churches.

The plan was temporarily suspended due to lingering memories of the war, but it was revived in 1977 when President and Mrs. Marcos visited Japan, with Reverend Kato sending letters urging that it proceed; the Takayama Ukon statue was formally unveiled on November 17 of that year. In cooperation with Mayor Bagatsing, Reverend Kato also had the surrounding area developed into a memorial plaza alongside the statue, giving rise to today’s “Plaza Dilao.”

The statue was cast from the same mold as an identical bronze statue in Takatsuki City, Osaka Prefecture, a place with deep ties to Takayama Ukon. It was the work of sculptor Masaaki Nishimori. The unveiling ceremony was attended by Mayor Bagatsing, a 35-member delegation from Japan led by Reverend Kato, and the mayor of Takatsuki, among others. Reverend Kato reportedly regarded the project at the time as an act of “atonement for the harm” Japan had inflicted on Asian countries during the last war. The Takayama Ukon statue at Plaza Dilao was designated a Philippine National Historical Landmark in 1993, marking the 400th anniversary of the settlement of Dilao, and today it continues to draw many Japanese pilgrims as a symbol of Japan-Philippines friendship.

From American to Japanese Products: The Rise of Japanese Cars and Companies

With the implementation of postwar reparations, “Made in America” products in the Philippine market gradually gave way to “Made in Japan” products. Affordable, durable, and backed by prompt parts supply and after-sales service, Japanese products came to win overwhelming support among Filipino consumers. In November 1973, the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the Philippines (JCCIPI) was established to support and foster exchange among Japanese companies operating in the country, and on October 9, 2023, a ceremony marking its 50th anniversary was held in Makati City.

Japanese Cars Dominate Philippine Roads

The presence of Japanese cars in the automobile market is striking. According to statistics from the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI), the top 10 best-selling new vehicle models in recent years have been dominated almost without exception by Japanese brands, with Toyota alone commanding a dominant share of nearly half of all new car sales (46.6% in 2022, and around 49% as of 2026). Japanese automakers have made full use of ASEAN’s tariff-elimination frameworks (such as the Common Effective Preferential Tariff) to build a region-wide supply chain producing components across ASEAN countries on a divided-labor basis. In the Philippines, almost every major Japanese automaker — Toyota, Mitsubishi, Honda, Nissan, Isuzu, Suzuki, and others — operates factories, and many Japanese manufacturers have set up operations in industrial parks such as those in the CALABARZON region, Subic, and Clark, benefiting from tax incentives granted by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) and contributing significantly to local job creation.

(Asahiko Yara, Japanese Business Club, Philippines [JBCP], a non-profit organization)