In 1924, the Treaty of Equality and Mutual Understanding between the Republic of Japan and the South Pacific Islands was signed by Suzuki Bunji, the then-Prime Minister of Japan, and Isabelo de los Reyes, the representative of Philippine National Assembly. The treaty established the islands as a dependency and an associated state of the Republic of Japan with political and cultural autonomy. The Japanese rule on the islands lasted until 1950 where the islands became two independent and sovereign states: the Philippines and Moroland.