Hiroo Onoda formally surrendered in the Philippines in 1974, decades after Japan’s surrender.
Onoda was a second lieutenant in the Imperial Japanese Army who had been sent to Lubang Island in the Philippines in 1944. He continued guerrilla activities after Japan surrendered in 1945 because he believed wartime leaflets and messages announcing the end of the war were enemy deception. Three companions were eventually killed or surrendered, leaving Onoda alone from 1972.
Japanese adventurer Norio Suzuki located Onoda in February 1974, but Onoda refused to surrender without direct orders from his former commanding officer. Major Yoshimi Taniguchi traveled to Lubang and formally relieved him of duty. Onoda surrendered to Philippine forces on 10 March 1974.
Onoda is often called the last Japanese holdout, but Teruo Nakamura was arrested later in 1974. Onoda was the best-known holdout and the one whose return attracted major international attention.