Japanese Occupation of Indonesia
| This article is part of the History of Indonesia series |
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| Pre-colonial Indonesia (before 1602) |
| Srivijaya (3rd century–1400) |
| Sailendra (8th Centry-832) |
| Kingdom of Mataram (752-1045) |
| Kediri (1045–1221) |
| Singhasari (1222–1292) |
| Majapahit Empire (1293–1500) |
| Sultanate of Demak (1475-1518) |
| Mataram Sultanate (1500s to 1700s) |
| Dutch East Indies (1602–1945) |
| Anglo-Dutch Java War (1810–1811) |
| Padri War (1821–1837) |
| Java War (1825–1830) |
| Aceh War (1873–1904) |
| National Revival (1899–1942) |
| Japanese Occupation (1942–1945) |
| Independence (1945–1965) |
| Declaration of Independence (1945) |
| National Revolution (1945–1949) |
| Asian-African Conference (1955) |
| Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation (1962–1965) |
| New Order (1965–1998) |
| Overthrow of Sukarno (1965–1966) |
| Act of Free Choice (1969) |
| Reformasi (1998–present) |
| Revolution of 1998 (1996–1998) |
| 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake (2004–present) |
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The Japanese occupation of Indonesia refers to the point in the history of Indonesia during the World War II between 1942 and 1945 while Japan ruled Indonesia.
During the night of the 10th to the 11th of January 1942, Japanese troops arrived near Menado on Celebes. At about the same moment they attacked Tarakan, an isle in the north-east of Borneo where some oilfields were being exploited. In February, British and American Allied troops started to draw back form Java. On the 27th of February the Dutch fleet was defeated in the Battle of the Java Sea. In the night of the 28th February to the 1st of March 1942, the Japanse troops landed on four places along the northern coast of Java almost undisturbed. In Magelang the local population welcomed them enthusiastically, and in Aceh the local population stood up against the colonial authorities even before the arrival of the Japanese. On the 8th of March the Dutch military surrendered. The Dutch civilians who were still in the country, were put away in internment camps. During the Japanese occupation, the nationalistist movement kept on developing.
In July 1942, Sukarno accepted Japan's offer to rally the public in support of the Japanese war effort. Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta were decorated by the Emperor of Japan in 1943.
Experience of the Japanese occupation of Indonesia varied considerably, depending upon where one lived and one's social position. Many who lived in areas considered important to the war effort experienced torture, sex slavery, arbitrary arrest and execution, and other war crimes. Thousands taken away from Indonesia as war labourers (romusha) suffered or died as a result of ill-treatment and starvation. People of Dutch and mixed Dutch-Indonesian descent were particular targets of the Japanese occupation.
Materially, whole railway lines, railway rolling stock, and industrial plant in Java were lifted and shipped back to Japan and Manchuria. British intelligence reports during the occupation noted significant removals of any materials that could be used in the war effort.
Categories
Empire of Japan | History of Indonesia