Figure 1.--Here we see girls in Java leaning Japanese in school during the occupation. Based on how they are dressed, they look to be the urban elite and not the great bulk of the Indonesian population, many of whom had no access to schooling.

The Japanese established a military government and divided the DEI into three administrative zones (Sumatra, central islands, and eastern islands). Sumatra where most of the oil was located was joined with the military jurisdiction of Malaya. Singapore was the administrative center. Java and a number of other islands were also administered by the Japanese Army. The other two Japanese administrative areas centred on Borneo (British and Dutch) and on the Celebes, the Moluccas, and Dutch New Guinea, were controlled by the Japanese Navy. The Japanese released nationalist leaders (Sukarno and Hatta) and allowed them to set up puppet political organizations. The Japanese promised independence to the Indonesians (1943). They never actually delivered on that promise. Atrocities that occurred in the Philippines and China were not that common in the DEI. This appears to be primarily because the nationalist leaders like Sukarno collaborated with the Japanese. There would be a serious cost. Most Indonesians at first welcomed the Japanese, accepting the Japanese propaganda that they came as liberators from Dutch colonial rule. Attitutuses soon changed. The Japanese recruited or conscripted some 4 and 10 million Indonesians as forced labor (romusha) for economic development and miliary constructiom on Java. Java was aensely populated island. They were not well treated and cared for by the Japanese. Some 0.2-0.5 were transported from Java. They were sent to the outer DEI islands and to Burma and Thailand. It is not clear why labor had to be imported in Burma and Thailand. Perhaps the Japanese did not want to stir up discontent in these countries. 【Ricklefs, p. 337. 】 The colaborating Indonesian nationalist leaders did nothing o protect the Indonesian people. Less than 70,000 of those deported for firced labor survived the war and returned to their country. While attitudes toward the Japanese had changed, there was no serious resistance as the nationlist leaders were collabirating with the Japanese. The Japamese seized what they wanted like rice and other food. Ebentually this led to faling production and by he end of he War a deadly fanmine had begun. The DEI unlike the Philippines dud not have a wudespread public school system. The Japanese took over the schools tghat existed and set iout go teach the Indinesians Japanese. We are not sure about tge rest of the curiculum or to what extent the Japanese pursued a balaved curiculum. Nor do we know how the Indonesians took to Japanese. It is not an easy language to learn. The Japanese instructirs tended to be strict. In the Philippines, many children stopped going to school. We suspect the same occurred in the DEI, but do not yet have much information.

Sources

Ricklefs, Merle Calvin. A History of Modern Indonesia Since c. 1200 (4th ed.). (Palgrave Macmillan: 2008).

Created: 5:44 AM 6/4/2024
Last updated: 5:44 AM 6/4/2024