The indigenous people of Palau in Micronesia were under Japanese colonial rule between 1914 and 1945. During the Japanese administration period, Palauans were discriminated against socially and economically. Palauans experienced hardships under Japanese political control, but they acquired the Japanese language within a few years of formal education and have retained it throughout the postwar years to the present day. Although researchers have explored the history of Palau during the Japanese occupation and the education system in Palau, studies in print have not focused on the ways in which Palauan elders learned the Japanese language. This study inquired about elderly Palauans' unique experiences of Japanese language learning. A single-case study method was utilized with multiple methods of data collection, including interviewing. Analytical techniques, such as pattern-matching, were also used to generalize findings and address significant aspects of the research endeavor. Fourteen Palauan informants participated in this study. They acquired Japanese as renshusei, student labor, along with formal schooling. Factors, such as an increasing number of Japanese immigrants to Palau, Japan's national policy, and rapid economic growth also impacted Palauans' Japanese language acquisition processes and acculturation as "Japanese." Elderly Palauans emphasized that the Japanese language has persisted in their minds along with memorable learning experiences which have not faded away. Further studies are recommended, such as exploring the rate of diffusion of the Japanese language in Palau, and young Palauans' rate of recognizing Japanese words embedded in the native Palauan language. [Keywords: Palau, Japanese colonial rule, discrimination, second language acquisition, interviewing]