JAPANESE PIONEERS in the Northern Philippine Highland. In the early years of the 20th century, American government installations in the Philippines were important work sites for Japanese migrant laborers. In northern Luzon, the most ambitious of these projects resulted in the creation of Baguio and its development into the country's most famous vacation resort. The building of a highway (the “Benguet Road,” later called the Kennon Road) to connect this proposed urban center to the Manila railroad employed over a thousand Japanese men. Upon the completion of the Road in 1905, some workers went to live in the BaguioBenguet region.
