At the end of the Battle of Tarawa, a Japanese soldier was killed by countless bullets from American troops. He was holding the Hinomaru, the Japanese flag, which was a collection of the Japanese nation's departure from the war. He was killed when he dared to charge the American troops with the Hinomaru flag in his hand.

 　　The Battle of Tarawa in the Pacific War broke out on November 11, 1943, and although there were sporadic battles and an offensive by Japanese forces on Tarawa Atoll on November 24, the Japanese forces were already near annihilation. Japanese soldiers were killed by countless bullets from American troops. The Japanese soldiers were holding a hinomaru (Japanese flag), which was written by Japanese people when they left Japan for war. It was assumed that he was killed when he dared to assault the American troops with the Hinomaru flag in his hand, keeping his will to live and not suffer the shame of a prisoner of war, and not accepting the U.S. Marine Corps' recommendation to surrender.

　 The Japanese garrison on Betio Island in Tarawa Atoll endured until November 22 without water, food, bullets, or other supplies from the November 20 landing of the American troops, temporarily recovering with the arrival of a follow-on force, but reaching their limits. Although they continued to fight until the end of the Battle of Tarawa, Japanese soldiers withdrew to the northern tip of Betio Island and the islands of Tarawa Atoll. Japanese soldiers charged by rifle, grenade, and bayonet after American soldiers approached them up close. In the final stages, the Japanese soldiers challenged the Americans to a hand-to-hand combat, killing a few of the invading Americans, but they were all killed by a volley of fire from the following American soldiers. At 1:30 p.m. on November 23, the U.S. military conquered Betio Island and declared it safe. The U.S. forces cleared the remaining Japanese soldiers on Tarawa Atoll, and the battle was concluded on November 28.

　By the time the battle of Tarawa ended, 17 Japanese soldiers were prisoners of war. Only 146 were taken prisoner, including 104 Koreans and 14 civilian Japanese who had been conscripted into the Japanese army. It was not until the following month, on December 20, that the Japanese headquarters announced the destruction of Tarawa Atoll and Makin Island. Since November 20, only 4,600 Japanese widows had opposed some 35,000 American troops, all of whom were crushed in the final assault on November 25. The Japanese lost about 4,500 men killed and only 146 prisoners of war. In the Battle of Tarawa, 934 American soldiers were killed and 2,385 were wounded. The majority of the casualties of the U.S. landing on Tarawa Island were casualties of the landing.